The Phillies just did the same with Tad Iguchi of all people.

Funny how the service time rules still apply to “veteran” Japanese players.

If I remember correctly, Omar made another mistake a couple of weeks earlier when he signed Alou without waiting to see if SF was going to offer him arbitration, thereby possible costing the Mets our first round pick. SF took Tim Alderson with the pick and Rick Porcello went a few picks later to the Tigers (although the Mets probably would not have wanted to go above slot).

I hope the Mets grab a couple of players in the Rule V, at $25K net at stake, it is a low risk high reward opportunity, albeit a longshot. There could be a few pitchers who have had their minor league careers interrupted with injuries that could be nice gambles.

Toby, with more and more players signing out of independent ball, how does the Rule V clock apply? If a player is signed by a MLB team, is then released and plays independent ball before resigning with an MLB team, does the clock continue to run? If the player signs directly with an independent team does the clock not start until he accepts a deal from an MLB team?