A four-step program to right the Mets ship... 2. MOVE JOHN MAINE TO THE 8TH INNING SETUP ROLE - Why not? Maine has the size, strength and velocity. He also runs out of juice in the 5th or 6th as a starter. With a rotation of three to four lefties and Bobby Parnell for the 7th, this could work and is certainly worth a try at no cost. - Yardbarker
Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says the Mets will have about $20 million to spend this offseason.
Madden says the Mets are certain to reduce their $147 million payroll and should be counted out of the Lackey, Holliday and Bay sweepstakes. Madden goes on to say that second-tier free agents should be their focus with priorities being left-field and two starting pitchers, naming Jason Marquis specifically. We're not sold that the Mets will walk away from the premier free agents just yet. - Fantasysp.
Aroldis Chapman, Mets: The Cuban flamethrower is in demand, but teams are waiting for agent Edwin Leonel Mejia to drop his asking price. The Mets love Chapman and need to make a splash. He could duel Stephen Strasburg for Rookie of the Year honors.
Gary Sheffield is dedicated to playing in 2010.
Sheffield's family wants him to reach 3,000 hits for his career (currently at 2,689) and Sheff wouldn't rule out cranking 40 home runs next year. Delusional much? With the overall shift to younger players, Sheffield may not find the playing time he wants next year -- certainly not for a drive to 3,000 over the next few years. Looks like Sheff will be forced into retirement kicking and screaming at some point.- Rotoworld
The Royals have identified the Mets as a possible trading partner for Jose Guillen, reports Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.
The Mets would reportedly only consider Guillen if they miss out on Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. With $12 million remaining in the last year of the contract, the Royals would have to eat a significant chunk of salary to even get the Mets to return phone calls. If there's a fit, the Royals would like a young outfielder in return and are eyeing Angel Pagan. We don't see a fit here; the Mets can just sign a second-tier outfielder for short money and retain Pagan either way. - Rotoworld
Jon Niese: Niese hasn't shown enough to be considered a lock for the fifth starter's spot, although I imagine the Mets will give lip service to the idea that he will be competing for the job next spring. That's fine - he will benefit from fronting the Buffalo Bisons' rotation in 2010. Niese is only 23 years old, so the Mets aren't exactly stunting his growth by asking him to stand tall in the International League first.- - Jack Flynn
Unless he is shipped out in a trade, Bobby Parnell should be in a New York Mets uniform next year and rightfully so. Despite not having much success as a starter in 2009, he did prove to be a very effective reliever. On top of that, Parnell made the league minimum of $400,000 last year, which is cheap when you consider that even with his struggles his performance was valued at two million dollars.Next year, I envision Parnell taking the spot that once belonged to J.J. Putz, which was setting up for Frankie Rodriguez. Depending on how well he performs, it wouldn’t surprise me if one day he took over the role as closer after Rodriguez departs - Metsmerized
Do we make minor adjustments and stay patient and rely on players like Ike Davis or Josh Thole for 2011 and hope the free agent market plays out better than this upcoming season? Either way Omar Minaya has an extremely difficult task ahead of him and with his and Jerry Manuel's jobs likely on the line he may be pressured to make a big splash from a fan base that has grown inpatient and is demanding something be done about the 3 year playoff drought and recent historic September collapses. I do not envy this man and I as the Mets fan base all hope that he can instrument the magic that he once did prior to the 2006 season and bring this team back to Playoff contention. - Link
Josh Thole hit a three-run homer Sunday and is second in the Venezuelan Winter League with a .394 average - MiLB
Bracing for the potential loss of starter Yorvit Torrealba, the Rockies have expressed preliminary interest in free agent catcher Brian Schneider.
Schneider suffered through a disappointing 2009 with the Mets, hitting .218 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 59 games. The veteran profiles as a backup at this point his career, and is a left-handed hitter who could complement Chris Iannetta. Iannetta hasn’t been promised the starting job.- Denver Post
The Mets would love to sign John Lackey, the No. 1 starter on the free-agent market. But if they don't, they want to add from a group that includes Joel Pineiro, Randy Wolf, Ben Sheets and Jason Marquis, according to two sources with knowledge of their plans. The Mets aren't pursuing free agent Rich Harden, one of the sources said. amazin ave.
Figueroa has been jerked around by the Mets for two straight years now. I expect he'll be back for more punishment in 2010, unless there's a match with a team more likely to value his services. If Niese is the first man the Mets will call on to fill a hole in the rotation, than Figueroa is the second. - Jack Flynn
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