Bengie Molina says he’s happy to be staying in San Francisco, but the Giants catcher sure sounds like he would have come to New York if given the chance.
The Associated Press reports that Molina turned down $1 million more in guaranteed money from the Mets as part of a proposal that included a vesting option for 2011. He said if the Mets had offered two years guaranteed, there’s a strong possibility he would have signed with them.
“We were very clear with them at the beginning and very clear with them at the end, when nothing happened,” Molina said on a Giants conference call. “I don’t understand why they didn’t want to commit to another year, with my numbers and my experience and things like that.”
Instead, Molina returned to the Giants on a one-year, $4.5 million deal with $1.5 million available in incentives. The Mets are left with Omir Santos, Henry Blanco and Josh Thole as their catching options for now, with Yorvit Torrealba and Rod Barajas still on the market.
Molina did say the Giants have a better chance to make the playoffs in 2010 than the Mets do.
Molina hit .265 with 80 RBIs and a career-high 20 home runs last season, ranking second among NL catchers in homers, RBIs and extra-base hits (44). He is a .276 career hitter with 139 home runs and 675 RBIs in 12 big league seasons with the Angels, Blue Jays and Giants.
“He’s certainly welcomed back with open arms. Just an interesting twist of fate,” Giants GM Brian Sabean said. “It’s a relief knowing what transpired because there wasn’t another offensive catcher out there.”
With AP