The backstop was placed on waivers by the Mets in late March and was quickly claimed by the Nats.  Coste made a combined 230 plate appearances for the Astros and Phillies last season, hitting .224/.301/.317. 

7:53am: The Mets placed catcher Chris Coste on waivers, reports Adam Rubin (via MetsBlog).  Coste signed a big league deal worth $650K back in December.  Rubin says Coste is likely to accept an assignment to Triple A if he clears waivers.

Coste, 37, hit .224/.301/.317 in 230 plate appearances for the Phillies and Astros last year, catching 352 innings.  Coste went 3 for 14 with a walk this spring.

On Saturday, ESPN's Jayson Stark said the Mets were hoping to move an excess catcher like Coste or Omir Santos for Triple A pitching depth.  The Mets have Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Santos, Josh Thole, and Shawn Riggans on the depth chart.

• Stark lists 16 players currently on the trade block. Among the names we haven't seen mentioned recently: Willie Harris, Andy Marte, Tim Stauffer, Omir Santos, and Brad Thomas.
• The Mets are looking to move one of their extra catchers, either Santos or Chris Coste, and are looking to add "major league-ready triple-A pitching depth." Aren't we all…
• The Phillies are looking to add all sorts of pitching depth, and have interest in the recently released Chad Gaudin.
• Scott Sizemore's rocky spring has the Tigers looking for a second base upgrade.
• Kansas City is shopping Brayan Pena in their perpetual search for starting pitching.
• The Braves have told other clubs that David Ross is available, "possibly in a catcher-for-catcher swap for a younger backup-catcher type."

9:52pm: Newsday's Ken Davidoff says that the Mets are considering Rod Barajas as an alternative to Molina. What do you think: genuine interest, or a smoke screen to put some pressure on Bengie?

SUNDAY, 3:02pm: Jon Heyman says, via Twitter, that the Mets are trying to wait it out when it comes to Molina. According to Heyman, the Mets figure that other teams with catching needs, such as the Royals and Rangers, have less money than them.

Are the Mets wise to wait on Bengie? Or, are they running a risk of losing out on what seems to be their main target for starting catcher in 2010? Gregg Zaun already signed with the Brewers this week, eliminating one possible alternative from this year's free agent crop.

SATURDAY, 9:19am: Despite signing both Henry Blanco and Chris Coste recently, the Mets are still looking to add a catcher according to Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post. Manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen hold last year's catching corps partially responsible for the team's 4.46 ERA, though I think the fact that Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, Nelson Figueroa, and Pat Misch combined to make 71 starts is more to blame.

Hubbuch says the primary catching target appears to be Bengie Molina, whose 20 homers in 2009 was nearly double what the Mets got out of their catchers. Molina is a Type-A free agent, but he wasn't offered arbitration, meaning it won't cost a draft pick to sign him. Giants' GM Brian Sabean recently said that he believes Molina "probably has been offered" a multi-year deal by another team, though we haven't heard any more about that.

It is fair to wonder if this will be a league-wide trend, though the Mets' decision to bring in Chris Coste and Alex Cora seems to argue against this.

Cleveland, unlike New York, also has more players at the upper levels of their farm system.

Coste told the Forum that the Mets gave him a guarantee of being placed on the 40-man roster, though not a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster.  If the Mets are happy with Coste, they can keep him beyond 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.

Coste struggled with the bat in 2009, hitting just .224/.301/.317 in 230 plate appearances with the Phillies and Astros.

The former 33-year-old rookie will be 37 next season.

• Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus tweets that Aroldis Chapman will throw a bullpen at Fenway tomorrow.
• ESPN's Keith Law says that firing VP of scouting and player development Grady Fuson was a good move by new GM Jed Hoyer and the Padres. He notes that San Diego's drafts have been among the worst in the game over the last few years, although they did change course last year.
• Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says the Orioles need a power hitter at one of the corner infield spots, and mentions that players like Adrian Beltre, Troy Glaus, or Carlos Delgado could represent a decent stop gap.
• Chris Coste became a free agent after being outrighted by the Astros, says Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
• Phil Wood of MASNsports.com has news on a few front office hirings by the Nationals.
• The Phillies added Brett Myers to their World Series roster according to David Murphy of The Philadephia Daily News. The 29-year-old righthander could earn himself a few extra bucks in free agency with a big series.

Marlins’ president of baseball operations, Larry Beinfest, said that the Marlins are likely to stand pat at catcher, and that any free agent signing would have to "make perfect sense."

FRIDAY, 9:05am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel confirmed the Marlins’ interest in Pudge, while also noting that the Fish discussed Philadelphia’s Chris Coste this week.  He says the Phillies want to evaluate Ronny Paulino before considering a Coste trade.

THURSDAY, 5:12pm: Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that the Marlins have interest in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

"Cost, however, is key," writes Frisaro.  The Fish don’t have much money left to work with and are only willing to guarantee about $1 million, plus a few performance-based incentives.  That might not be enough to woo Pudge, who hit .276/.319/.394 with seven homers and 35 RBI in 398 at-bats last season.

Rodriguez might also crave more playing time.  The Marlins seem to like 27-year-old John Baker a whole lot.

• RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis.  35 home runs next year?
• Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations.
• More details on Dan Johnson – the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000.
• Tim Redding’s agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty.
• Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins’ interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren’t going after Ray King.
• The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper.
• The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste.
• New National Josh Willingham likes the Marlins’ young talent.
• New Phillie Raul Ibanez likes the chances that the Mariners will have a better offense in 2009.
• The AP has details on the perks in the C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett deals.
• Ken Davidoff looks at the impact Mark Teixeira’s decision will have on six teams. Amazing how one deal will shape so many teams’ plans.
• Buster Olney writes that many players are going to make much less than expected in 2009, including Manny Ramirez.  In that same blog post, Olney notes that his colleague Jerry Crasnick says the Angels’ signing of Juan Rivera takes them out of the market for Manny.
• The D’Backs’ discussions for Tony Clark are progressing.

Sullivan adds that the Cubs have not had talks for Bobby Abreu yet.

9:17pm: Stark says there’s no way such a complicated trade will get done before the end of the Meetings.  He adds that extra teams are not necessarily requirements.  The Cubs will need to move a contract and get ownership approval, though.

8:39pm: Ruben Amaro Jr. came close to acknowledging the Phils are involved in the Peavy deal, says Jayson Stark.

8:31pm: Jeff Passan: the lone holdup in this complicated trade is the Cubs moving Marquis.  A deal is not imminent, though, according to Towers.

7:26pm: Brock talked to Towers, who met today with Hendry and said a trade seems more likely today than it did yesterday.  They’ll meet again tonight.  If a deal is reached, it’d be announced after Thursday’s Rule 5 draft.  Brock says the Phillies are believed to be the third team.

3:31pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says nothing is imminent and the Cubs appear reluctant.

2:25pm: The saga continues…Kevin Towers does not think this deal lost steam in the last 24 hours, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown and Gordon Edes.  However, they say the Cubs are having second thoughts about this four-team mess.  The Cubs source says the price is too steep for them right now and they’re looking at another short-term option for the rotation (Randy Johnson maybe).

2:02pm: Tom Krasovic says the Padres are not seeking J.A. Happ or Chris Coste as has been previously rumored.  Also, Ronny Cedeno is not the Padres’ first choice to replace Khalil Greene at short.  Krasovic adds that the Braves apparently are now happy the Padres didn’t take their offer for Peavy.

Kras adds that the Padres did some fact-finding with Mark Grudzielanek’s agent.  Grudz wants to play for a winner though.

1:10pm: Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times says Peavy sang "Go Cubs, Go" at a Vegas bar last night.  Good times.  But did Roy Oswalt sing along?  Also, Modrowski believes the Cubs would be willing to eat as much as $6MM of Marquis’ $9.875MM.

Jayson Stark says an Aaron Heilman-Marquis deal appears unlikely, as the sides cannot agree on what portion of Marquis’ contract the Cubs would assume.

12:08pm: Rosenthal says the Cubs maintain they’re not close on Peavy.  And they still need to identify their new owner before a deal can get done.  The Cubs are mulling Randy Johnson as a backup plan, and continue to prioritize the lefthanded bat.

10:36am: Phil Rogers says the key to this potential four-team Peavy trade would be the Phillies or Orioles taking on Marquis and some of his contract.  Rogers says "it will be a stunner if the Cubs don’t acquire Peavy."

1:00am: Chris De Luca says a source close to Jim Hendry characterized a Peavy deal as "very close."  De Luca’s sources say a Cubs-Orioles component is set (Felix Pie for Garrett Olson).  This runs counter to Roch Kubatko’s report below.  De Luca says the Cubs still want to trade Marquis and acquire a lefthanded hitter before closing the Peavy deal.

12:41am: Ken Rosenthal’s source says the Cubs’ attempts to bring in a third team have involved "probably 20 names with four to five clubs."  So it’s not necessarily DeRosa or the Phillies.  Rosenthal says an agreement is still not close.

12:30am: To summarize yesterday: Kevin Towers has facilitated an apparent three-team Jake Peavy trade that he will present to the Cubs.  I say three because Roch Kubatko says the Orioles don’t know of any agreement.  So the best guess right now (based on reports) is that the Cubs would send Mark DeRosa to the Phillies, and both teams would send young players to the Padres.  The Cubs could offload Jason Marquis in the deal, and the savings from Marquis and DeRosa would seem to neatly equal Peavy’s $11MM salary for ’09.

10:31pm: MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer says the Angels have not taken themselves out of the Peavy sweepstakes. 

Also, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune supplies more info.  A third team would definitely be involved in a Cubs trade.  DeRosa could wind up a Phillie, and Michael Wuertz is a new name of interest for the Padres.  Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod said again that Peavy will require a full no-trade clause upon a deal.  One more thing – Towers said trading Peavy could free up money for Trevor Hoffman.

9:00pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock says the legwork on this trade "has essentially been completed."  No deal has been reached, but Towers says he’s facilitated a three or possibly four-team deal.  The third and possibly fourth teams (Orioles, Phillies) have agreed to players.  There could be some haggling remaining on players sent from the Cubs to Padres.

Brock says all Towers needs now is the go-ahead from Hendry.  Peavy, by the way, was spotted at the Meetings.

8:35pm: Jayson Stark gives his take on the Peavy-Cubs situation.  He says Hendry is dealing with restrictions due to the team’s ownership situation, despite his comments.

8:01pm: Scott Miller of CBSSports.com says Jason Marquis and Angel Guzman (among others) could end up with the Padres in the three-team deal.  The Padres could get J.A. Happ and/or Chris Coste from the Phils.  Miller adds that the Phils are known to have interest in Mark DeRosa.

6:53pm: Rosenthal says the Phillies are now in the mix as a possible third team in a Peavy trade.  Those talks are preliminary.  Rosenthal says the Cubs can’t complete a deal for Peavy until their new owner is decided.

5:33pm: Roch Kubatko says the O’s are still interested in Pie, but may only get him for Olson straight up if Olson is to be flipped to San Diego in a Peavy trade.

2:37pm: Joel Sherman learned from Towers that if he doesn’t reach an agreement on a Peavy deal with the Cubs at the Meetings, he will keep the pitcher to start the season.  The Dodgers are apparently the only other team to which Peavy has approved a trade.

Sherman adds that the Cubs "are willing to let [Peavy] keep his no-trade clause."  Not sure if Sherman is trying to say the Cubs would replace Peavy’s partial no-trade rights for 2011 and part of 2012 with full no-trade powers.

2:33pm: Kevin Towers told Ken Rosenthal he’s talking to only the Cubs about Peavy.  He expects to have a good idea on whether to drop it or move forward by the end of the Meetings.  Towers approached Ned Colletti but talks didn’t get far.

12:22pm: Jerry Crasnick says Kevin Towers and Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod drove together for the 4.5 hour ride from San Diego to Las Vegas, but Axelrod says they only talked about Peavy for about three minutes.  Also, Axelrod brought a sweet mix CD.

11:44am: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald says the Cubs and Padres did not talk about Peavy on Sunday but will today.  He’s heard the Padres might be concerned with Vitters’ hand/wrist.

1:14am: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs first want to trade Jason Marquis and acquire their left-handed hitting outfielder before Peavy.  Wittenmyer’s sources do believe the Cubs will eventually acquire San Diego’s ace.  However, his sources say the Tom Krasovic report about a five-for-one framework being in place is exaggerated.

Wittenmyer hears that the Orioles would be willing to swap Garrett Olson for Felix Pie; the Cubs would then send Olson to the Padres in the Peavy deal.

12:54am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Padres GM Kevin Towers "envisions a way to do a [Jake Peavy] deal now only with the Cubs."  We’ve heard rumors of the Padres and Cubs trying to rope in the Orioles or Rays as a third team. 

Heyman adds that Peavy would approve a trade to Chicago "without any significant reworking of his contract or other major concessions."  Does that imply that the Cubs would not have to guarantee Peavy’s 2013 option ($22MM) or grant him a full no-trade clause?

Keep in mind that despite all the virtual ink that will be spilled on Peavy over the next four days, Jayson Stark sees "just about a zero chance" he’s dealt at the Meetings.  Still, the Cubs and Padres seem to already have a framework in place involving Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, Josh Vitters, and maybe Ronny Cedeno.