Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes that the Mets are unlikely to make any moves for pitching via trade or free agency, and specifically adds that the Mets are not interested in Jarrod Washburn.
If it seems a bit early for such discussions, that is largely due to the travails of John Maine, whose fastball velocity is way down, while his ERA is way up. After allowing seven earned runs in three innings last night, Maine faces a do-or-die start on Sunday night against the Cardinals, according to Newsday's David Lennon.
Another reason for New York's reluctance to reach outside the organization is a lack of attractive external options, though should the team climb into contention, a partial-season deal with Pedro Martinez could be considered.
Predictionsguy
I hope you realize that Jarrod Washburn is not what the Mets need either, so why would they be interested? They need a #2, not a #4. Seriously, no Mets fan is dying to have Jarrod Washburn. Time to make Mejia a starter again?
damnitsderek
That may be true, but the Mets aren’t going to find a #2 starter in the middle of April.
Predictionsguy
Obviously. They could have had one, but they missed their chance.
berkaderk
takahashi can probably step up and fill his role if need be. no point in signing/trading for another #4/#5 when they already have a ton of those guys available.
tigersfan19
The mets rotation is good enough for now
Guest 3159
lawl.
tigersfan19
Good rotation
BANBAN
NYM GET: Matsuzaka,Lowell(BOS eat 9M salary), Beltre,Felix Doubront ,Josh Reddick
BOS GET:Wright,Feliciano,Tatis
How about this?
East Coast Bias
…
Predictionsguy
wow, in your f’in dreams
damnitsderek
Joke, right?
taurus28
You gotta be kidding!
East Coast Bias
Wait till the off season and sign Cliff Lee!
Ferrariman
probably. they need him. badly….
but i think its gonna take like 10year/2billion to play for the mets.
East Coast Bias
haha, maybe.
I just don’t think anyone is worth going after on the free agent or trade market. That may change as the deadline approaches though. I’m thinking Peavy or Oswalt? Still, at that point, I would recommend not giving up the farm and just wait till Free Agency next year. They really screwed up by not getting Lackey.
Ferrariman
Lackey isn’t worth 82million.
The mets, suprisingly, didn’t miss the boat on him. Not when 82mil can get you..say…jorge de la rosa+ ted lilly next year
East Coast Bias
He isn’t, but he was going to get that much, at least, from any team because he was the best FA pitcher this year, albeit in a very weak pitching market. So financially speaking, you’re right, they will get a lot more bang for their buck next year, but it will be at the cost of having a poor rotation this year.
Kevin Chambers
Why Peavy? He aint going anywhere.
East Coast Bias
If the White Sox fall out of contention, he will be the first person they’ll try to move. Peavy is signed for 3-4 years for at least 15m per.
I don’t see them making the playoffs for the next few years with the Twins fielding the team they have. And it’s pretty much a guarantee that one of the AL East teams will snag the wild card.
Ferrariman
just wondering..how is toyota igarashi doing? i remember the mets got him for 2year/3million and i thought it was a good deal. but i got blasted because people kept going off on how bad omar minaya is when it really wasn’t that bad of a deal.
dro1202
Why is warthen still the pitching coach? he comes here and the pitchers either have their worst seasons (Pelfrey), getting hurt (Johan), or both (Maine and Ollie). Im not sure what hes doing, but its not good at all
stltiger69
Seriously, what is with all of the man-love for Jarrod Washburn? Is he the only pitcher left in baseball? First, I hear he’s still “recovering” from surgery. My understanding is that even “if” he signs, he will not be available until mid-season AND the fun part is, he hasn’t faced a major league batter at all since the surgery last year so you have a seriously unknown question about if he’ll be effective at all if you take the risk and sign him (and paying him millions of dollars). Also, something else to consider, let’s face it, some teams can be out of the pennant race by the end of April (I’ll resist the urge to name Houston and Baltimore specifically) so signing a higher priced veteran may not be a good move for some teams. AND- if you are in the pennant race where a game or two might decide if your going to the play offs or not, at this point would you trust Jarrod Washburn with the ball every 5th start if your season’s on the line? Just my thoughts…
nymets4581
The Mets just need to trade some of those utility players and one of their crappy starters (Perez) for a decent #2. I think somebody like Aaron Harang or Bronson Arroyo would do the job just fine. Peavy would be great, but I don’t think that will happen.
bigpat
How does trading utility players and crappy starters net then a #2 pitcher?
I think just because they are the Mets, people assume they have to be making contender moves, but their team really isn’t in position to compete this year. They shouldn’t give away any valuable pieces for one year rentals when a lot of things would have to break right to get them into the playoffs. They needed to sign a starter in the offseason or trade for one to compete, but now they might as well just wait for free agency because I’m sure one of Harang or Arroyo will get let go and they can have them if they wish.
JK_Livin
There was a lot of talk in the Astros Cardinals game last night about Oswalt possibly leaving Houston. Wouldn’t he make for a nice number 2…
Bernaldo
Trading utility players and “crappy” starters only returns other utility players and “crappy” starters in return. If the Mets want to land a true #2 quality starter, then they’ll have to move David Wright, or Julio Reyes (if other teams aren’t scared off by health issues) or some top, near-ready minor league talent in return.
zack
julio reyes? ahaha
Moebarguy
What’s Braden Looper up to these days….
JK_Livin
The Mets have essentially been big on potential and small on results. Do they really have so much money tied up in Wright, Reyes, Santana and K-Rod that they can’t sign anyone else? If so, someone really needs to look at the return on investment that they are getting on these guys. Bay was a nice addition, but there really needs to be more offensive production from the corner infielders to really be competitive. Where is the Mets Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman, Ryan Howard, Mark Texieria, Adrian Gonzalez, etc. Even second tier guys like Kendry Morales, Billy Butler, Adam Dunn, Todd Helton, etc. are putting up better numbers than what the Mets are getting from 3rd and 1st base. Can the Mets really not afford to make a play for Adrian Gonzalez? I realize that they need pitching BADLY!, but that isn’t the only problem needing to be addressed. This team needs to look at moving some potential for the much more important goal of getting some results.
ZeroZeroZero
Its really good the Wilpons decided to hang onto Omar after the last few years worth of debacles, since hes been so capable for fielding a competitive team.
I really hope he gets fired over Jerry Manuel. Manuel is just working with what he has.