Mota still eligible for Winter ball--New York Times

"Mota will not be paid during the suspension, but there are no other restrictions. He may play winter ball, participate in spring training workouts and play in exhibition games with whichever team he signs with, but he would not be eligible to play in a regular-season game until late May and would likely need to pitch in a rehabilitation assignment before being recalled."

• (And, of course, the future of Aaron Heilman once again hangs in the balance).sm

Mota, who filed for free agency on Tuesday, is not certain to re-sign with the Mets, but his unavailability for the first two months of next season complicates their plans. With Duaner Sanchez, their set-up man, recovering from shoulder surgery, their only healthy late-inning reliever under contract is Aaron Heilman. The Mets may be less inclined to deal Heilman, who prefers to start and could fetch a starting pitcher in a trade, now that he is more valuable to them in the bullpen." from article by Ben Shpigel, NY Times, 11/1/06

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