On Thursday, the Colorado Rockies and free agent Michael Cuddyer reached an agreement on a three-year, $31.5 million deal that will bring the slugger to Denver to play left field. He will take over for the incumbent at the position, Seth Smith, a 29-year old outfielder who hit a respectable .275/.348/.485 in 147 games for the Rockies in 2011. The team has been looking to move Smith in a package for New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathon Niese, but apparently the Mets have absolutely no interest in any such deal, according to Jerry Crasnik of ESPN.
Smith has been a solid contributor, but the Rockies clearly thought they needed an upgrade at the position. Meanwhile, Niese is only 25-years old and has put up very good strikeout to walk ratios in the past two seasons -- 148:62 in 2010 and 138:44 in 2011 -- to pair with fine earned run averages and respectable win-loss records. The Mets would need to be blown away by a deal for Niese, and a package centered around Seth Smith likely won't get it done.
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