The Mets pulled off a pretty wild trade that has netted the team a guy who looks to be the setup man for Francisco Rodriquez.
The Mets picked up J.J. Putz a 31-year old relief pitcher from Seattle as part of a three team, 12-player trade. When the smoke cleared three signature Mets players were gone.
Aaron Heilman and Endy Chavez were shipped to the Mariners. Joe Smith was shipped to the Indians. Three minor league players, including Mike Carp, were shipped off by the Mets as well.
The New York Post weighs in on the deal and Putz:
It is a lot of depth to give up. But Putz is just a year removed from using his 98-mph fastball and put-away split to post 40 saves and a 1.38 ERA. Nevertheless, he did have a red-flag-filled-2008 in which he had just 15 saves and a 3.88 ERA (but 2.45 over the final two months).
Putz had a rough 2008 but it seems as though he's got the kind of stuff that the Mets haven't had in a setup man in quite awhile. I'm sorry to see Heilman, Endy and Joe Smith go for a variety of reasons which I'll cover in a later post or the podcast.
The video below shows Putz entering a game on opening day in 2007 when he was at the top of his game.
Putz used to be a stud!
i remember last March drafting for fantasy baseball and he was the number one ranked closer in the game. his age isn't a problem, as the prime of RP'ers is later than the prime of other players: he shouldn't start declining for ages. i am very sorry to see joe smith go, as i liked his youth and he was the only member of our bullpen last year who was consistent and solid, but you can't just get players without giving any in a trade i suppose. and chavez, while fast and exciting and having an excellent glove, could not hit a thing and was only useful late in games when we were ahead. pagan is back from injury this year and he is just a better hitting version of endy, so we don't need him anymore. and as far as i'm concerned, losing heilman is a PLUS! he's sucked for as long as i can remember as a RP and i am very happy to see him go.
an 8th and 9th inning tandem of putz and frankie is very good. better than most teams'. i am much more confident in our bullpen now.
johan is a mega-star, pelfrey is a rising star, and maine is good too. we can afford to give niese a chance at the 5th slot, after all he can't be any worse than pedro was last year with his losing record and 5.60 era. we need a 4th starter though. with all the dough we spent on those releivers, we can't afford burnett or lowe anymore so we should give them up. either resign olly or sign joe blanton or perhaps randy wolf and we should be good at SP.
after that, late in the offseason, we should sign orlando hudson and juan cruz for cheap. hudson is underrated, fast, a great hitter and good feilder and also very young. he is a perfect fit here, and he has expressed his desire to play for new york. easley is gone and castillo is old, injury prone, and not too good anymore. get hudson, trade castillo if we can and if not just keep him on the bench, and let the more reliable and exciting and versatile hudson take over at second. cruz is just an optional, cheap, young arm we could get to help the bullpen even more than we already have.
keep up the good work omar!
Manny In Left Field
I notice that Manny Ramirez is still out there sitting on the market. It's not a very robust market for free agents this season. And the Yankees are in the market for a center fielder. I wouldn't be surprised (or disappointed) if Omar decided to go after Manny to fill the starting slot in left field.
another bat
I like your idea of getting manny also They could bat him between Beltran and Delgado
Hed just love NY
Again, Manny too pricy
I would love to have manny ramirez, don't get me wrong, but manny is too pricy for hte mets budget. considering the mets have got 2 reasonably expensive new players already in putz and krod and need at least 1 more starting pitcher too, we can't afford to pay manny the nearly 30 million dollars a year he will command. however, there are lots of other free agents i think the mets should target for a lower price. here is a list of guys i think the mets shold look into:
1. Adam Dunn-good for 40 homers every year, a heart of the order including beltran, wright, delgado, and dunn would strike fear into any opposing pitchers eyes. adds a lot more thunder to our already powerful lineup.
2. Derek Lowe- might also be too pricy, but if we could scrounge for him we would have an excellent rotation. john maine would be our number 4 starter! Lowe is very consistent and injury free, a big plus considering our recent injuries.
3. Ben Sheets- very injury prone, but when healthy he is flat out dominant. could be a steal...
4. oliver perez- he got it done for us last year as a fourth starter, and if he is willing to do it again for a similar price he might just do the trick if our other options dry up.
5. orlando hudson- great speed, solid bat, great in teh feild, and has expressed an interst to play for the mets. minaya needs to realize that castillo's days are over and he should be traded our used in a reserve role while the younger, better, and cheaper hudson takes over at second.
6. Milton bradley- young, lots of power, excellent hitter, and not too expensive. could be a great late offseason steal.
7. Bobby abreu- just in case we're not too sold on starting murphy/tatis/pagan in left feild but can't stomach teh pricetag on some of the above options.
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