It Putz the lotion in the basket

Welcome to New York, J.J. Putz. In case you missed it, the Mets traded Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Joe Smith, and minor leaguers Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Jason Vargas, and Ezequiel Carrera for J.J. Putz, Sean Green, and Jeremy Reed. The Indians were also involved, as they received Luis Valbuena and gave up Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners. Click here for the whole trade.

My gut reaction is that it's a good trade that improves the Mets right now. If healthy, Putz is dominant. He and K-Rod would form the best 1-2 punch out of the 'pen in baseball. I also love the idea of Putz being utilized as a "relief ace", coming in to pitch during high leverage situations, no matter if it's the 6th or 9th inning. The 2007-2008 Mets lacked that pre-9th inning guy. However, the Mets gave up 7 players and got 3 in return, 1 of whom (Reed) I don't think is good enough to be on the Opening Day roster. I'll break the trade down later in more detail.

Omar Minaya covered his ass - now no one can say he didn't try to improve the bullpen.

Winter Meetings Day 3 roundup

Wednesday's Mets developments from the Bellagio:

1) "The Mets are looking at the Pirates' Matt Capps"

Capps is a 25 year-old, low 90's throwing reliever. In 217.1 career IP, he he's posted a 3.58 FIP and 1.06 WHIP. He is a stud. The Pirates will not trade him for cheap, meaning the classic "lets trade Aaron Heilman for him" is not going to cut it. I would love to see him as a Met, but it won't come cheap.

2) "The Mets were rebuffed in their attempt to trade Aaron Heilman to the Rockies for righty Huston Street"

Like Capps, I would love to see Street in a Mets uniform next year. Also like Capps, he will not come cheap. Street is death to right-handed hitters, but has also held lefties to a .710 OPS against in his career.

3) "The Mets have shown interest in trading for Juan Pierre"

This is preposterous. I'm guessing the Mets would trade Luis Castillo, who is like 10% the headache Pierre is considering their contracts. Pierre's OBP was .327 and OPS+ was 73 (as a corner OF!!!) in 2008. On top of that, his defense is slightly above average at best. He is owed an average of $9.5 million over the next 3 seasons. Stay away from Pierre.

4) "John Smoltz wants to pitch for a team that could take him to the World Series... the free agent is considering the New York Mets" amongst other teams including the Braves and Red Sox

I'd welcome Smoltz with open arms. I'm guessing he'd only get a 1-year deal considering his injury history and age, and that's fine. Smoltz was dominate in 2007 (3.21 FIP in 205.2 IP), and would be the Mets' #2 pitcher at this point if healthy.

5) "The Mets have a meeting scheduled Wednesday afternoon with Scott Boras to discuss both Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez. They also plan to meet with the agents for Randy Wolf and Jon Garland."

This is a step in the right direction, as it is the first I've read of the Mets aggressively working to sign a starting pitcher. The Yankees supposedly offered Lowe 4 years, $66 million, which is probably a slight bargain. I'd go as high as 4 years, $70-72 million for him. Perez isn't worth more than $6 million a year or so. I like Wolf as well, but would only be happy with signing Garland if Lowe, Ben Sheets, or Wolf are signed first.

6) "The Mets and the Seattle Mariners are in serious discussions on a trade that would bring Seattle closer J.J. Putz to the Mets in exchange for reliever Aaron Heilman and minor-league first baseman Mike Carp"

I like this trade. It seems like Heilman will be inevitably be traded, and I don't foresee Carp getting a shot at the big league level despite his minor league success. Putz is owed $5 million in 2009 and has an $8.6 million club option in 2010. His 2008 season was a little disappointing after a dominant 2007, but his career K/BB is an outstanding 3.24 and he throws 95 mph.

Winter Meetings Day 2, featuring K-ROD

Today's developments from the Winter Meetings at the Bellagio:

1) "The New York Mets have reached an agreement in principle with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez on a three-year, $37 million contract. The deal includes a $14 million vesting option for a fourth year that would raise the total value of the contract to $51 million."

Eh. The Mets get a proven closer and they do it early this offseason. I hate the 4th year vesting option - that's just too much $$ for a closer. FanGraphs is mixed on the signing but Beyond the Boxscore likes it. Omar Minaya has sent a message to the fans that he's not messing around this offseason with the bullpen, and I guess like that. But Omar - your job is far from over.

2) "The Mets inquired on [Texas Rangers SS] Michael Young"

No, thank you. Young is a 32 and owed a mind-boggling $16 million a year through 2013 (and we Met fans thought the Luis Castillo contract was silly). He would play 2B, assuming Castillo is traded. Young went .284/.339/.402 in 2008, doesn't steal many bases (though his SB% is strong), and has never posted a UZR better than -3.7 since becoming a full time major leaguer. Let's forget this "inquiry" ever happened.

3) "The Philles, Mets, and Cubs appear to have separated themselves from the pack of teams pursuing outfielder Raul Ibanez."

For the one thousandth time, please no. Click here for more on why not. I honestly don't think Omar Minaya is dumb enough to sign Ibanez, but the nonstop reports of Mets interest are scary.

4) Former Mets Kris Benson and Scott Erickson are attempting comebacks

Good for them?

Opinions on today's happenings at the Winter Meetings

Today is day 1 of the baseball Winter Meetings held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Let's run down the Mets rumors for the day and my quick thoughts on each:

1) "The Mets offered K-Rod a 2-year deal worth $12 million with a 3rd year vesting option"

I'll take K-Rod, Brian Fuentes, or dark-horse Kerry Wood (who was not offered arbitration wouldn't cost a draft pick) for a reasonable price. By reasonable I mean 3 years, $12 million or less per year. For whatever reason, Met fans seem to prefer K-Rod a heckuva lot more than Fuentes, but they're pretty much equal in actual value. Wood is a tier below these two and an injury risk.

2) "The Mets are desperate to trade Luis Castillo and sign Orlando Hudson"

I can't see any team taking Castillo in return for any worthwhile player (spare me this Jose Guillen stuff). Hudson is 31 years old and has had 2 seasons in a row end in injury. His career OPS+ is 99, and his vaunted defense might not be all it's cracked up to be (in 2008 he posted a -4 on the +/- scale, UZR of -6.1). Give Castillo another shot (shudder).

3) "The Mets have Jon Garland on their radar"

No. Just please no. Read here for more.

4) "The Red Sox are in trade discussions for Mets catcher Brian Schneider"

Whatever. The Mets could do a lot worse than Schneider and Ramon Castro at catcher. If they can get a solid prospect or 2 for Schneider, then fine, make the trade. I just don't think this should be a priority.

5) "Chad Cordero and his agent plan to meet with the Mets" and 4 other teams

Cordero is coming off a serious arm injury, which caused his fastball velocity to drop to 84 mph this season. I'd be OK with signing him, as long as it's not multi-year or too pricey. He may not even be ready for spring training. Omar Minaya loves his former Expos, so don't be surprised to see him sign with the Mets. Take a look at his medical records first, Omar.

6) "David Eckstein is drawing interest from 5 teams"

Good God, no. Luckily it doesn't specify that the Mets are one of the teams. However, for anyone who thinks Eckstein would be an upgrade over Castillo, look at the following:

Eckstein, career: .284/.351/.361
Castillo, career: .292/..367/.355

Bill James 2009 projection
Eckstein: .277/.346/.346
Castillo: .281/.362/.344

Their fielding skills are similar, and Eckstein has played 38 career games at 2B. There's no reason to get rid of Castillo only to replace him with Eckstein.

7) "Phillies enter Jake Peavy fray"

Say it ain't so. Peavy and Cole Hamels in the same rotation would be terrifying.