They are currently looking for a closer and some bullpen help. All have to come cheaper than the contracts they passed up for Joe Nathan (two years at $14.5 million or roughly $7.25 million a year) and Chris Capuano (roughly $5 million a year for two seasons).
They are looking at players like Octavio Dotel and Luis Ayala. These are good options, but they will certainly get into a bidding war for Ayala. It is already reported that six teams (including the Mets) are interested in his services. Those teams being Boston, the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels and the Mets.
Who knows how many teams will get in on the bidding for Dotel? Other free agents still available, but expected to go quickly are Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, Francisco Cordero and Brad Lidge, among others. A complete list of remaining free agents can be seen here.
The trouble with most of these pitchers is that the market has shown a high price range for closers and experienced relievers. Take the Philles signing of Jonathan Papelbon and the Marlins inking of Heath Bell as examples. Bell was signed for three years at $27 million with an option for a fourth year. Each year, including the option year is worth $9 million. The Phillies landed Papelbon for four years at $50 million or nearly $13 million a season.
Are the Mets ready to invest $9-13 million on a closer for three or four years? Not in the Sandy Alderson era they're not. I can't say I blame them either. While Francisco Rodriguez (also a free agent) was productive in his time in Queens, the argument can be made that he was hardly worth the financial handcuff that he placed on their payroll. His automatic option made him nearly impossible to trade. Is that a road the Mets want to go down again?
In the end, Milwaukee took him and gave the Mets a pretty good reliever out of the deal in Danny Herrera, well pretty good when he first came to the Mets anyway. The Brewers eventually worked out a restructure of K-Rod's contract that freed them of having to pick up the option, thus making him a free agent now. In an completely unrelated question, why couldn't the Mets have done that?
But I digress. The Mets are admittedly in a cash-strapped position and are not going to bid enormous amounts of money on free agents for the bullpen, regardless of their track record. GM Sandy Alderson has the right idea in that the Mets starting staff wasn't too bad, but the bullpen did a terrible job at holding leads the starters gave them.
It's the bullpen that needs the most help. Alderson wrapped up Tim Byrdak before the season was over and is apparently planning on focusing on this area during the meetings in Dallas. The question is whether or not they can find a solid contributor for an inexpensive price in this market.
The truth is, they will have to reach a little for a player that any other time they may get for a bargain. This off season, however, the players are in control of what they make. The market average has been set already. We can thank the Marlins and Phillies for that atrocity.
The Mets will be in the hunt, but they will be careful to not spend too much more than they can afford on one player. If they come out of these meetings with at least one reliever to add to their bullpen, not necessarily a closer though, it could still be a good thing for the team. The front office will at least look like they are trying and the team's biggest weakness will be made a little stronger.
There will still be time for them to obtain a closer after most other ones are signed up and the remaining players become desperate for a team to report to in the spring. That may be what Alderson is counting on.
For now, with the meetings upon us, at least we have something to finally talk about with these Mets. Instead of writing about how they are idle and waiting, standing by like some operator at a call center for an infomercial. At this point, any solid move is a plus.
