JJLaman

I originally posted this back in February but that was a touch early for some peoples taste (haha). Take a peek at it again and you will see that there are going to be plenty of options for us before the trade deadline.

I figured I would take moment to highlight some of the 2010 free agents that could be possible trade deadline targets for our Mets. Granted, things have to play out before we would persue any of these options (like how the corner outfielders work out between Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy along with the Luis Castillo, Alex Cora 2nd base situation), but here are some of the guys teams could be looking to deal before they get nothing in return next winter.

CATCHER: I dont really see us doing anything in this area at all but anything could happen. The best of what could be available here features someone coming back from injury in the Indians Victor Martinez. If he comes back healthy and productive though, he could be expensive and may never hit the market (as the team holds a $7 million dollar club option). There is also Bengie Molina from the Giants and he could be a more realistic team once they fall out of contention.

FIRST BASE: Nothing really worth talking about here at all. Carlos Delgado is our man. He has to stay healthy and productive because this market is just non-existant. After this season, we are either going to bring him back for another year or go in house.

SECOND BASE: We are saddled with Luis Castillo and over spent on Alex Cora as a fall back option. That said, Brian Roberts is no longer on the wish list as he has resigned with the Orioles. What we are looking at here is Placido Polanco from the Tigers and a slew of guys we passed on this winter (David Eckstein, Felipe Lopez, Adam Kennedy). This situation will have to play out before anything at all is considered a viable option but with the money owed Castillo and Omars committment to not dumping him, we have to hope he rebounds.

THIRD BASE: We will not need one for years. Moving on.

SHORTSTOP: Again, wont need one for years. Moving on.

LEFTFIELD: There is actually some nice talent to mention here. We all know about Matt Holliday but that man is going to cost alot. There is also Jason Bay but I dont see the Red Sox letting him go as they will be in contention. The Rays have Carl Crawford coming up on free agency but they have a $10 million dollar option which more than likely will get picked up. Holliday is probably the most available and desirable commodity but again, he will cost alot. How things play out with Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis and Fernando Martinez's progress, will go a long way in determining our interest here.

CENTERFIELD: Not needed. There may be some complimentary guys here that could be moved to one of the corner spots, but for the most part, none of it is any better than what we have. Moving on.

RIGHTFIELD: As I stated earlier with leftfield, how the guys we have now pans out will determine our interest but for this position we have Xavier Nady with the Yankees (no easy deal being worked out there), Vladimir Guerrero with the Angels, Bobby Abreu (who we passed on this winter), Magglio Ordonez with the Tigers, and Jermaine Dye with the White Sox. Some of these guys are getting up there in age but depending how things work out, we could use them for the dog days of summer and a post season run. Something to watch as I think some of these options could be had cheaper and easier than the leftfield options available.

STARTING PITCHER: I dont know if anything spectacular can be done here but anything is possible. Most of the cream of the crop, have club options. Brandon Webb with the Diamondbacks ($8.5 million dollar club option), Cliff Lee with the Indians ($8 million dollar option), and Josh Beckett with the Red Sox ($12 million dollar option). I think the most realistically available options could be John Lackey of the Angels. Rich Harden of the Cubs will be looking at free agency but the Cubs should contend and if he is healthy, I see no reason why they move him. Another possibility could be Erik Bedard with the Mariners depending upon how he rebounds and there is always the outside shot that the Blue Jays decide to rebuild and dump Roy Halliday. Our staffs health and productivity play into whether we are buyers in this market.

RELIEF PITCHER: While there are some decent names available here, I think the most interesting thing will be whether we decide to trade J.J. Putz before the deadline. I have a hard time seeing the team picking up an $8.6 million dollar option on an 8th inning set-up man (even though it does give us one heck of a possible 1-2 punch). He could be dangled to a team in need of a closer if we find ourselves needing to address a need of our own. Other than that, we could possibly be in the market for a left-handed reliever but who isn't?