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After a slow Thanksgiving break, the Mets and Cards starting putting together pieces of the 2010 season. The Mets signed C Chris Coste (.224BA) and re-signed Alex Cora (.251 1HR; 18RBIs). Coste was more productive in the first half with the Phillies than the Astros. The catcher turns 37 this year and if he hangs on with the Mets will be eligible next year for salary arbitration. Cora has a potential $3M deal if he makes 80 starts this season. Why the Mets chose to pay him that much when they could’ve had the pick of the litter for a utility player is beyond me. They are rumored to be close to a deal with C Henry Blanco too. Blanco hit .235 with 6 HRs and 16 RBIs. The good news is it shouldn’t cost the Mets more than a million.

The Cardinals have signed deals with 2B Ruben Gotay and C Jason LaRue. Gotay (.235; 2HRs and 8 RBIs in 88 games) has yet to play a full major league season since breaking into the bigs in 2004. His best season came with the Mets in 2007 where he batted .295 and didn’t play at all in the majors this season. LaRue is a cheap option rather than the Cards going after Torrealba, Molina, etc. He hit .240 last season and is a good clubhouse guy to have.

Basically, these are minor deals today as we have yet to see a significant signing happen. Rumors today include: Pirates interested in Justin Duchsherer, Orioles interested in Kevin Millwood, The Sox like Holliday over Bay?, Phils and Sox talked on 3B Mike Lowell, Rangers have interest in Octavio Dotel and Jermaine Dye, and the Indians plan to fill positions from within the organization.

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