Pirates Notebook: Mesa likely to return as closer in '06
Friday, August 05, 2005
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Signs are pointing to Jose Mesa staying on as the Pirates' closer next year.
Mesa wants it to happen, and the team apparently does, too.
"No question about it, I would love to be here again," Mesa said yesterday in his first interview in nearly a month. "But that's up to them. If I'm here, I will be very happy again."
Mesa, 39, is in the final guaranteed year of a contract with a salary of $2 million. He has a 2006 team option worth $4 million. If the team declines the option, Mesa is owed a $500,000 buyout.
The Pirates have not fully determined their plan for Mesa, but management is leaning toward bringing him back for another year. The team is not likely to exercise the $4 million option, though, and could seek to negotiate a lower salary.
Mesa has been wobbly at times this season, allowing opponents to bat .288 against him and posting a 3.76 earned run average, but he has nailed down 26 of 29 possible saves. His save total is seventh highest in Major League Baseball, and his three blown saves are second fewest among those with 27 or more opportunities.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05217/549104.stm