Baseball by Dan Graziano

MLB analysis by The Star-Ledger columnist

Mets outfielder Nick Evans had an MRI on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery and was diagnosed with what the team described as a "mild quadriceps strain of the right knee"(sic). The Mets said Evans suffered the injury while playing winter ball in Puerto Rico (he last played on Nov. 19) and would undergo three-to-four weeks of therapy at home in Phoenix in preparation for spring training.

The only one of their free agents to whom the Mets offered arbitration is left-handed pitcher Oliver Perez, who is extremely likely to get a long-term deal, either from the Mets or another team. The Mets will receive draft-pick compensation if Perez signs with another team, but they are interested in bringing him back.

Moises Alou, Luis Ayala, Damion Easley, Orlando Hernandez, Pedro Martinez, Ramon Martinez, Ricardo Rincon and Matt Wise are the other Mets free agents. They were not offered arbitration. The Mets may continue to negotiate with them, but if they sign elsewhere the Mets will not receive draft-pick compensation. Of the group, Ayala, Easley and Wise are the most likely to be brought back, if anyone is.

There's this story today out of Denver, and it's interesting, for sure. For me, it speaks once again to the idea that the Mets are in a very strong position in terms of being able to sign a closer. If Brian Fuentes' agent is putting it out there that his client is planning to visit New York, it means he wants everybody to know that the Mets are interested in his client. And an agent only does that when he needs to drum up interest.

There's an industry-wide feeling that the Mets will end up signing Francisco Rodriguez to a three-year deal, and I see no reason to doubt it. A couple of weeks ago, it appeared that the Mets were torn between Rodriguez and Fuentes and would prioritize whichever one first came to them willing to do the deal THEY wanted (i.e., three years). But over the past week or so, it's become clear that Rodriguez has moved to the front of the list, either because they've decided they like him better or because they've been getting a vibe from him that he's willing to talk deal at their preferred parameters.

EPA PhotoStar-Ledger baseball expert Dan Graziano is betting the ets will sign Francisco Rodriguez to close games in '09.

No, this isn't about the Mets signing both Francisco Rodriguez AND Brian Fuentes. I believe they'll sign one of them (my money's on Rodriguez), and probably pretty soon. But as Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog keeps pointing out, the team is also focused on acquiring a setup reliever who has closer experience.

AP File PhotoNews that the Angels are interested in bidding for CC Sabathia is good news for the free-agent lefty.

It's been almost two weeks since the Yankees made their record six-year, $140 million offer to CC Sabathia, and there's been absolutely no movement on the story since. Word came down that the Dodgers and Giants were prepping offers, but neither has yet made one. Meanwhile, the Yankees wait to find out whether the best pitcher on the market is willing to accept their offer even though it's obvious he'd rather pitch somewhere else.

Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesSo long, Mike.

This was Mike Mussina in spring training 2007, answering a question about how much longer he expected to pitch:

"I told my wife when I was two or three years into the big leagues, and I was 25, 26 years old, 'If I can play until I'm 35, I'll retire. So when I was 32, I signed a six-year contract, and my wife said to me, 'I think you have a little problem with math.'"

Mussina didn't have a problem with math or with much else in a brilliant career that ended, officially, Thursday afternoon. During a conference call with reporters, he said he was proud to have finished his career 117 games over .500 "or something like that," but he knew his number was dead-on. Mussina knows all of his numbers, where they stack up against Hall of Famers and the many statistical reasons he has to be proud of his major-league accomplishments.

Official release from the Mets says this:

"The Mets Daniel Murphy underwent an MRI this morning at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery and the test revealed that he has a Grade 2 Strain of the right hamstring. Murphy felt discomfort in the leg in pre-game batting practice of his November 11th Arizona Fall League game. He will skip winter league ball in Puerto Rico so that he can be ready for the opening of Spring Training this February in Port St. Lucie, Fla."

So that's the team line, at least. Let's address a couple of issues on this:

Rick Wood/MCTMike Cameron may be in center for the Yankees in '09.

The Yankees are focused on their starting pitching right now, but they do plan to upgrade at center field before the off-season ends as well. To that end, they've had conversations with the Milwaukee Brewers about former Met Mike Cameron.