The New York Mets have reportedly passed on re-acquiring the services of Hisanori Takahashi.
Early today the Mets asked for waivers for Takahashi’s with the intention of giving him his release after the lefty and management could not come to terms on a new deal.
Takahashi is looking for a 3-4 year deal between $4-5 million per year while the Mets were only willing to give him a one-year deal with an option for another year at best.
Entering his sophomore season, the Japanese south paw will now be able to sign with any team that shows interest and the Mets will not be able to resume talks with him until May 15, presuming he is still on the market by then.
Regarding Takahashi, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said:
“Hisanori wanted to test the free agent market…We thank Hisanori for his contributions to the Mets in 2010 and wish him good luck in his future major league career.”
Even though Takahashi’s asking price seems a little too high for the talent he showed in just one year in the league, the Mets will surely miss him and now it looks like there is an even greater need to re-sign Pedro Feliciano to keep a lefty specialist in the pen.
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