2009-03-15T13:51:29-04:00 <p>The Indians, Pirates and Mets, who have long had interest in Cooperstown-bound pitcher <strong>Pedro Martinez</strong>, have been joined by the Dodgers. And according to Martinez's agent <strong>Fern Cuza</strong>, a couple more additional teams have recently entered the mix.</p> <p>Martinez apparently sparked extra interest with a scoreless cameo for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.</p> <p>But while executives with four different teams tell SI.com that they're interested at some price,&nbsp;that price still may not be Pedro's price, which is between $5 million and $8 million, according to those executives.</p> Agent says several teams interested in Pedro 2009-03-14T13:30:23-04:00 12 2009-03-14T13:30:23-04:00 1 2 10 2009-03-15T13:51:29-04:00 5 CA LazarusLong Encino 592414 12 Pedro pitches successfully against a Netherlands team with Rookie League/low-Single A hitting and suddenly he is a good bet ? I don't think so... He's been injured basically for three seasons. He's not getting a guaranteed contract worth 5 Million from anyone with a brain in their heads. Pedro should get a base salary of perhaps ONE million, with huge incentives built in, depending on the number of game appearances/innings pitched.... 4688991 2009-03-15T12:09:50-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/202/342/thumb/images-2.jpg 336 CT mishagothe New London 202642 11 This just in - Joh Heyman is a cheap shill for Scott Bora$$. Most teams and especially the Mets have made it clear they have zero interest in Pedro at ANY price. A couple meaningless innings at the WBC are not going to change that. 4688373 2009-03-15T10:24:47-04:00 2 XX steve ganci No City 738083 10 The fact that they are going with Luis Castillo at 2b is further evidence that they are living in a dream world. Not a single team was interested in this gimpy,lazy excuse for a ballplayer. Only when he realizes his career is in jeopardy does he decide to come to camp in shape?!...Is he going to start running balls out this year too?...Minaya did a LOUSY job in the offseason.K-Rod fell onto his lap because there was no competition,a down year for demand of teams needing a closer,the economy,etc....I predict Alex Cora gets at least 400 AB playing 2b when this bum breaks down as we know he will. 4687931 2009-03-15T10:18:22-04:00 2 XX steve ganci No City 738083 9 The Mets keep saying Madoff didn't affect their day to day operations, but Omar Minaya continues to live in a dream world spinning nonsense and believing Met fans are stupid enough to believe whatever they say.It's outrageous that because Redding has a guaranteed contract,they're forced to keep him. Pedro,if not for the Madoff scheme,would be in a Met uniform by now and so would Orlando Hudson. 4687882 2009-03-15T02:22:36-04:00 22 AZ ptgvn Tucson 237621 8 The Tigers NEED to sign Pedro. Willis and/or Robertson are not going to get it done and Pedro would be the perfect one-year answer while Porcello gets another year's worth of seasoning in the high minors. The kid is going to be something special, but rushing him to the Bigs right now would not be in his --or the club's-- best interests. 4687168 2009-03-14T21:27:33-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/192/06/thumb/Indian_Monkey_485096.jpg 164 CA 69Mets Folsom 19246 7 I suspect the Mets will offer he a deal, both sides are just in negotiation through the press. 4685449 2009-03-14T21:27:18-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/192/06/thumb/Indian_Monkey_485096.jpg 164 CA 69Mets Folsom 19246 6 I suspect the Mets will offer he a deal, both sides are just in negotiation through the press. 4685447 2009-03-14T19:00:07-04:00 1 FL NativeNYkr Fort Lauderdale 449560 5 After the Mets realize that Livan Hernandez is done, they will jump into the mix and resign Pedro to a one year deal. Jon Niese and Bobby Parnell are still unproven commodities and may yet require more time to mature as reliable starters in the majors. 4684510 2009-03-14T17:29:03-04:00 1306 GA ESPN Atlanta 14414 4 I say, let him stay on the boat itself!!! Give our younger players some chances 4684111 2009-03-14T17:17:02-04:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/657/740/thumb/W.jpg 7 OH Wilmoth Dayton 658380 3 The Reds should sign him and then move one of their planned starters, possibly Homer Baily, to the bullpen. The Red's have a really good staff going into this year. 4683968 12 <p>The Indians, Pirates and Mets, who have long had interest in Cooperstown-bound pitcher <strong>Pedro Martinez</strong>, have been joined by the Dodgers. And according to Martinez's agent <strong>Fern Cuza</strong>, a couple more additional teams have recently entered the mix.</p> <p>Martinez apparently sparked extra interest with a scoreless cameo for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.</p> <p>But while executives with four different teams tell SI.com that they're interested at some price,&nbsp;that price still may not be Pedro's price, which is between $5 million and $8 million, according to those executives.</p> <p>Baseball executives with three of the interested teams suggest a gap remains between Pedro's figures and&nbsp;what they're willing to pay. Martinez's asking price could be considered reasonable given the $5 million guaranteed deals that <strong>John Smoltz</strong> and <strong>Brad Penny</strong> got, said two executives, but both suggested the sinking economy and completed payrolls may make that a reach now.</p> <p>Martinez has said publicly that he wouldn't pitch for as little as $1 million guaranteed, and would instead prefer to remain on his fishing boat if he can't get what he believes he's worth. But his performance in the WBC and expanded interest should guarantee he'll easily beat that figure, even in a brutal and worsening market.</p> <p>Cuza said he would begin sorting out the interest early next week with callbacks to the interested teams. In some cases, it may take a GM going back to his owner to request an expanded budget.</p> <p>One club executive said he believes Martinez prefers the National League, but Cuza characterized Martinez's thinking as "open'' to other alternatives.</p> <p>"What he's looking for is a chance to win,'' Cuza said.</p> <p>Martinez enhanced his chances to get closer to what he seeks with a very nice three-inning performance for the Dominican Republic before it was shockingly eliminated by the Dominican Republic</p> <p>"Pedro feels better than his first year with the Mets,'' Cuza said.</p> <p>The agent declined to name or confirm any of the interested teams, but baseball executives say Los Angeles, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and the Mets all have some level of interest.</p> <p>Dodgers general manager <strong>Ned Colletti</strong> and manager <strong>Joe Torre</strong> publicly spoke of some interest within the last few days. The Dodgers were mentioned as a potential match on SI.com a month ago.</p> <p>The Indians "have an eye on Pedro but are tapped out (financially),'' according to someone familiar with their situation.</p> <p>The Pirates are monitoring the situation but also aren't believed likely to meet Martinez's asking price.</p> <p>Martinez has said he'd love to go back to the Mets, but&nbsp;he and New York remain far enough apart financially that that scenario seems fairly remote. Martinez, who made $53 million in his four years in New York, has fans in the organization in GM <strong>Omar Minaya</strong> and pitching guru <strong>Guy Conti. </strong>But right now the Mets are most seriously considering <strong>Livan Hernandez</strong> plus youngsters <strong>Jon Niese</strong> and <strong>Bobby Parnell</strong> for their fifth starting job. Should Martinez's price drop, the Mets still might get back into the mix, however.</p> 57141 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/100/64/thumb/Heyman_Jon.png 0 NY Jon Heyman New York 10084