Alyson Footer had these bits of info for us:
Wade will meet with Randy Wolf's representatives Arn Tellem and Joel Wolfe on Wednesday. While Wade is optimistic about the club's chances to sign the free agent left-hander, he's doubtful that the club will be able to strike a deal with Wolf before the exclusive negotiation period expires in another week.
We already know that the Mets are interested in Wolf so I imagine he'll test the market in the hopes of driving up his price. Not surprsing, but we might luck out and see him walk, allowing us to pick up a compensation pick if we offer arbitration and possibly loosen up funds for a top tier pitcher.
Wade also has had ongoing discussions with the agents representing Doug Brocail and LaTroy Hawkins and suspects those negotiations may take substantial time as well.
We all know that Wade is seeking to re-sign these guys, but I've yet to hear about any other teams expressing interest. Do we consider these guys locks to come back?
Wade met with Mark Rodgers, who represents free agent lefty Mike Hampton. The injury-riddled Hampton had a fairly strong end to the '08 season and if he'd be willing to accept a low-base, incentive-laden deal, the Astros may be interested.
This probably isn't a bad gamble if that kind of contract could be landed. The scrap heap has a lot of diamonds in the rough and I'm all for the Astros trying to mine them.
In more pitching news, Ken Davidoff thinks that Andy Pettitte might want another two year deal to come back and pitch:
There are rumblings that Pettitte wants a two-year deal, and that won't be happening with the Yankees...
Pettitte hasn't even filed for free agency yet, but when he does, and if this staredown is still going on with between Pettitte and the Yankees, expect the Astros to try to bring Pettitte back to his hometown.
Sadly, I can see Drayton shelling out the cash for this because of Pettitte's marquee value, but I just don't see the dollar signs and the value adding up. Maybe ticket sales and merchandise could offset it.
**Pettitte Update**
Brian Cashman said that he has interest in bringing back Andy Pettitte, and he knows that Pettitte feels the same way. "Typically, that's two good steps to getting it done. But we're not there yet."
Keep checking back throughout the day to see what pops up as the GM meetings take place.