It’s a longshot that Cliff Floyd will come to Flushing. In all likelihood, John Thomson won’t be coming back there, either.
An industry source told The Post it would be difficult for the Mets to unload the necessary salary (i.e. Jeromy Burnitz and/or Roger Cedeno) in order to acquire Floyd, a sweet-swinging corner outfielder who rejected arbitration from Boston last night. However, the Mets were still working the phones past 11 p.m. in order to gain payroll flexibility.
The front office is in agreement that Floyd would be a nice addition, but the club doubts it can find room for him. GM Steve Phillips was still working on permutations of a trade that would bring Denny Neagle from Colorado to the Mets and unload Cedeno and Burnitz, but a source close to the situation was not optimistic. The real opportunity to make that trade died over the weekend in Nashville.
“It’s no further ahead or further behind than it was a couple days ago,” the source said. “I don’t see that as a real prospect.”
Similarly, Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd tried to downplay the possibility of a trade.
“When you’re dealing with stories that come out of New York, it’s going to percolate until the coffee burns the pot,” O’Dowd told a Denver Post reporter.
The Mets could always go after Floyd first and worry about the payroll ramifications later. But the club would put itself in a tough spot because the scarce market for Burnitz and Cedeno would plummet further if other teams knew the Mets had to move those underachievers.
Also, some members of the front office – including owner Fred Wilpon – do not want to operate the team with an open budget and would prefer to wait and see if some of the offensive players bounce back in 2003.
Floyd began the season in Florida, was traded to Montreal and then shipped to the Red Sox, where he finished with a .316 average, seven homers and 18 RBIs over 47 games. Boston reportedly wanted to move him to first base, though Floyd seems to prefer the outfield.
Speculation centers that he will end up in Los Angeles, which also is trying to find ways to afford him.
Thomson, a right-hander acquired at the trade deadline for Jay Payton, will probably not be tendered a contract, a baseball official said last night. The deadline to do so is today.
This is a change from Dec. 2, when Phillips said, “we probably won’t non-tender Thomson.” The organization now realizes it has a strong starting rotation as it stands, and Michael Bacsik, Aaron Heilman and Jason Middlebrook can fight for the fifth starting slot. Thomson was 9-14 in 30 starts with a 4.71 ERA for the Rockies and Mets.
*
(Metro Edition) There’s no further news with regard to thrid baseman Norihiro Nakamura. Souces outside the organization say the Mets and he have agreed to terms, but people inside the front office insist nothing is definite.