Kansas City won their arbitration case against Carlos Beltran, so he will receive a $6M salary in 2003 rather than the $6.95M he was seeking. Beltran possesses considerable power and speed skills, as well as a solid walk rate. If he could maintain his other skills while improving his contact rate, he'd likely quickly jump from solid regular to superstar.

The 25-year-old still has considerable room to grow and should reach free agency while he's still peaking after the 2004 season. Unfortunately, it appears Kansas City will be losing yet another of their homegrown talents. The Royals drafted Beltran out of high school with their second round pick in the 1995 draft. However, they have not been able to make progress on discussions of a long-term deal with him. His price should escalate further after another season, and I suspect an arbitration board will once again determine his salary in 2004.

Beltran's teammate Raul Ibanez settled for a one-year, $3M contract earlier last week. Ibanez found almost full-time at-bats in 2002 and the additional playing time allowed him to display the production of which he was capable. The 30-year-old possesses moderate power skills with a mild amount of speed backed by solid plate discipline. Now that he's caught the attention of the Royals, I expect them to find him similar playing time in 2003, which will likely lead to them vastly overpaying him in 2004.

Rob Sasser signed a minor league deal with Kansas City in mid-February. Sasser has bounced around quite a bit since the Braves drafted him out of high school with their 10th round pick of the 1993 draft. The 27-year-old right-handed third baseman spent last season with the Brewers' AAA affiliate at Indianapolis. He possesses solid plate discipline with marginal power and speed skills. Kansas City has little depth at third base, so he could receive a call-up as an injury replacement, and while he wouldn't be a great regular, he could be a decent bench player.

One time Royal, David Cone will return to the Mets on a minor league deal this year. If Cone makes the team, he'll reportedly receive a base salary of $550,000 and have the opportunity to earn an additional $250,000 in incentives. Cone is hoping to make a comeback after a season of broadcasting.

When he last pitched in 2001, he still possessed a solid strikeout rate. The main concern was that he was no longer able go very deep into his starts and his control numbers were slipping. Although there's been some speculation that a year of rest will have left his arm refreshed, I don't think we should expect a rebound and rested is only one letter removed from rusted.

If he were only competing for a starting job, I'd say that his broadcasting employer should go ahead and hold his job for him. The Mets have way too many high upside pitchers already fighting for rotation spots to give one to Cone, and I do not expect him to stick around in AAA if he fails to make the major league roster. However, Cone and the Mets are both willing to give him a shot at a bullpen job as well and that's a group I think he can crack. As noted above, the 40-year-old's failing endurance was his primary problem, so if he can adjust to pitching an inning or two every couple of days I think he could probably be a significant asset to New York's bullpen. There's even a chance he could vulture the seven wins he needs to reach 200, though that will probably require at least two seasons. Consequently, as long as they quickly begin focusing on him as a bullpen candidate, I have no objections to this signing. He could pitch well for the team, and as long as that happens, he'll please the fans. New York's bullpen doesn't have that much depth, so he'll likely only be pushing a pitcher who missed the rotation to AAA.

The Mets made a similar move in signing Tony Clark to a minor league deal. Clark will also receive a base salary of $550,000 if he makes the team with a chance to earn an additional $200,000 in incentives. While the switch-hitter has not played anywhere outside of first base and DH in the majors, he's expected to spend most of his Spring Training time in the outfield where he played in college, as the Mets want the additional versatility on the bench. I'm not sure how well that experiment will work given the back problems that led to the 30-year-old's loss of production the last couple seasons. However, Clark is also prepared to accept a minor league assignment, which would allow him to continue to work on his defense in the outfield and provide the Mets with a back-up at AAA for Mo Vaughn.

I was quite disappointed in Clark's performance last season, as I expected a rebound to his pre-injury form. Clark claims that his problems were the result of adjusting to a part time role and that he's now mentally prepared for that kind of assignment, but I'm withholding my enthusiasm until I see his walk rate back above 10%. Nevertheless, I think he gives them valuable depth and could be a real asset to the team as long as he's not allowed to steal playing time from guys performing better than him.

The Mets have also signed OF-R Jeff Abbott, OF-R Lyle Mouton, and RHP T.J. Mathews to minor league contracts. Abbott spent last season with Boston's AAA affiliate at Pawtucket. The 30-year-old has marginal power upside and a bit of speed, but he won't be able to hold down a steady major league bench job until he improves his plate discipline. New York doesn't have a lot of outfield depth, so he could receive a call-up at some point, however I don't expect him to make a significant impact on the major league team.

Mouton signed with the Expos prior to last season, but he was cut during Spring Training after injuring his Achilles tendon. I have no record of him playing for another major league affiliate in 2002. The 33-year-old has maintained a decent walk rate and possesses marginal power skills. However, I don't expect him to break onto the Mets' major league roster for any substantial length of time in 2003.

Mathews started last season with the Astros, but after he was struck with biceps tendinitis Houston released him mid-season. When healthy, the 30-year-old has demonstrated solid relief skills, so he could be a bullpen option for the Mets later in the season. However, they've chosen to assign him to minor league camp for the moment, so there's little chance he'll break camp with the team.