According to a league source with knowledge of the situation, it is looking more and more like the Derek Lowe sweepstakes will come down to the Mets and the Red Sox. Despite reports to the contrary, the Red Sox are not out on Mark Teixeira, they just will not raise their offer as it stands which is somewhere between $180 and $184 million over 8 years. It is also being said that the Teixeira situation does not have an impact on Lowe, as whether the Red Sox get Teixeira or not will not change their stance on Lowe which is they will take him, but they aren’t about to get in any kind of bidding war for him.

The Sox are very content with their rotation as is, which has Jon Lester,Josh Becket,Daisuke Matsuzaka,Tim Wakefield and likely Clay Buchholz in there. They would like Lowe back, but are not about to go to the 4 year mark, or unlikely to go to the $15 million per year mark, he would have to come at their price, though no word exactly what that is. The Mets, though have a big need in the rotation. The only solidified spots are Johan Santana,Mike Pelfrey and John Maine. They are content with using Jon Niese or a veteran like Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon in the 5th spot. That leaves one open spot, the Mets are looking to acquire a #2 type starter because as of right now they don’t really see Maine or Pelfrey as a 2 on Opening Day 2009. If you add Lowe to this rotation, you’re looking at a strong rotation to go with an extremely strong bullpen, which is always a good start.

The Mets on the other hand seem far more interested, and more willing to get into a bidding war, which could prove to be good for them. It has been known since the off-season started that Derek Lowe was definitely hands down the team’s top target for a starting pitcher. They never considered CC Sabathia, reasonably so after the contract he got from the Yankees. Their interest in Oliver Perez is iffy, they’d turn to him if Lowe went elsewhere, but they really don’t like the idea of giving him the amount of money he’s going to get. They like Randy Wolf and Jon Garland after that, so a lot would have to go wrong for Garland to be a Met.  There are some who feel Lowe will have to settle for a 3 year deal with an option, unless the Mets pull what they did with Pedro Martinez when he was a free agent and guarantee that 4th year to lock him up. Only difference is the risk factor with Lowe is low .. no pun intended, but the risk on Pedro was high, as he had been pitching with a torn labrum for some time, and it was only a matter of time before it snapped.

Other teams who may like Lowe are the Cubs(if they cut salary, I mean a lot of salary), Angels(unlikely situation there), or Yankees(they will be bringing back Pettitte, solidifying the rotation). Look for it to be Mets vs Red Sox in the battle for Lowe, and for Met fans who want Lowe, you will be satisfied to read what a source told me. “There is a really legitimate shot Lowe is a Met, he could end up in Boston, but if the Mets really want him, which is the sense around the league, then the chances of him being a Met are pretty solid.”

So we’ll see how it goes, I will for sure be keeping tabs on this, so continue to visit NY Baseball Digest for the latest updates on everything New York baseball.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Derek Lowe, New York Mets