The Mets badly need a closer, and that's not a great thing. But their timing is pretty good in that there are four closers on the free-agent market and four on the trade market, as well. They are weighing all the possibilities, but it appears now that the free-agent route is slightly more likely than the trade route.
The Mets are looking into trades for Chicago's Bobby Jenks, Seattle's J.J. Putz and Colorado's Huston Street, and there's no reason to think they wouldn't inquire about Houston's Jose Valverde, as well. However, teams with viable closers have targeted a combination of the Mets' four best prospects: outfielder Fernando Martinez (who's tearing it up in winter ball), plus pitchers Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell and Eddie Kunz, and the Mets are reluctant to trade their premium prospects after dealing four others to land superstar pitcher Johan Santana last winter.
Among the free agent closers, Francisco Rodriguez appears to be the top target (all prices being equal) followed by Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood. While Wood is an extreme talent, the Mets have concerns about his past arm troubles. Trevor Hoffman is also available after the Padres' unceremoniously pulled their $4-million offer to him off the table.
Irina Shayk
Alyssa Miller
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal
Fans and Their Sports Tattoos
Comments (0) Add A Comment
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.