Frank Gray - Andres Torres, We Hardly Knew You.

The New York Mets traded Angel Pagan last month to the San Francisco Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez. At the time, it seemed like the centerfielder position was set. Last week rumors came out that the Mets were interested in free agent Cody Ross.

While reports this week point to Ross agreeing to terms with the Boston Red Sox, it still begs a question: where does Torres stand? It's obvious that the Mets are interested in a back up plan for that outfield position. Perhaps it's due to his injuries last season or his low AVG of .221 as a direct result of those injuries.

The Mets have said Torres is healthy, so why, then, consider another option?  Maybe they don't believe in him as much as they are admitting or maybe they aren't divulging all of the news on his health. Either way, there's something there that has yet to be revealed.

If he is healthy, he could perform admirably. Looking at his stats prior to his 2011, he hit .268, 16 home runs and had 26 stolen bases in 2010. Those are comparable to Angel Pagan's stats in that season, .290, 11 home runs and 37 stolen bases.

While it's certainly true that Pagan had the better year then, Torres wasn't too shabby. In fact, when considering he did it from the leadoff spot, those stats are inviting to a team that has a tremendous void at the top of their lineup.

Many fans may disagree and want to see the Mets go after another option. After all, they only have Jason Bay, Lucas Duda and Scott Hairston to go with Torres on the Major League roster. I believe that would be a mistake.

As opposed to Pagan, Torres is the type of player that clubhouses embrace. When he was healthy and productive in 2010, he was not just a spark in the San Francisco Giants lineup, but an important key in the playoff push and their eventual World Series victory. The fans there loved him.

Most Giants chat boards were filled last month with upset fans ranting over the trade. He was embraced in the community as well as the clubhouse. Isn't that the type of player a younger team should take a chance on having on board?

Rather than calling for the Mets to exhaust every minimally talented outfield option, perhaps it would be wiser for us to accept that Andres Torres is the option and embrace him as our opening day leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder. He might just surprise us.