I Don't Know-Third Base!

The NY Times reports that free agent third baseman Bill Mueller has turned down the Mets offer and is expected to sign with another team in days.

The two remaining candidates are free agents Tyler Houston and Jose Hernandez. Hernandez, a shortstop who has never played more than 95 games at third in a season, had been rumored to be going to the Mets as a shortstop and then to be shifted to third when minor-leaguer Jose Reyes was ready. That strategy evidently changed when the Mets signed free agent Rey Sanchez, who played second last year, to play short.

In both cases Colorado appears to be the main competition. The Rockies were set to sign Houstom a little over a week ago, but the talks fell through. They are now mainly focused on Chris Stynes but have considered paying a bit more for Hernandez given that he may come cheaply in this free agent market. The Mets shouldn't be able to scew up with Hernandez since they should have the funds to outbid the Rockies. So I fully expect Chris Stynes to be the New York staring third baseman next year.