Mets shopping Castro? Possibly Pursuing Pudge?

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets are calling other teams and trying to sell catcher Ramon Castro. The only two teams who have shown interest in the 33 years old catcher is the Brewers and his old club, the Marlins. Castro his .245 with 7 home runs and 24 RBI's last season for the Mets, but only played 52 games due to constant injuries. The reason the Mets would like to part ways with him is that he is currently owed $2.5 million this season, money the Mets can use to sign a righty bat or a lefty reliever. Either way, the Mets seem to think that the combo of Schneider and Cancel can work behind the plate this season.

This news also makes me wonder if the Mets trying to get rid of Castro means the are possibly interested in Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate this season. Obviously you wouldnt take him on a major league contract, which is what he wants. The only way you should bring in Pudge is if he takes a minor league deal and tries to win a roster spot via Spring Training. Rodriguez hit .276 with 7 home runs and 35 RBI's in 115 games split between the Tigers and Yankees last season.

Mets Opening Day Roster

I thought that now that Oliver Perez is back with the Mets it's time to take a look at the Mets Opening Day Roster for this upcoming season. This roster isn't final yet so don't go spreading around that this is the Mets Opening Day Roster. There are still a couple of spots left on the team and I am just predicting who will earn these final spots on the Mets team.

Starting Lineup:

1B: Carlos Delgado (2008- .271, 38 HRs, 115 RBIs). Good call bringing him back another season as the Mets really didn't have another option at first base this season.

2B: Luis Castillo (2008-.245, 3 HRs, 28 RBIs, 17 SBs). Not a huge fan of Castillo and I still think Orlando Hudson would've been a better fit at second base this season.

SS: Jose Reyes (2008- .297, 16 HRs, 68 RBIs, 56 SBs). Reyes had a great season last year and the Mets need him to be a better team leader on and off the field this year.

3B: David Wright (2008- .302, 33 HRs, 124 RBIs, 15 SBs). Wright posted MVP calibar numbers this past season and is rapidly rising as one of the best players in the league. The Mets need Wright to put up similiar numbers this season, possibly even win the MVP award.

LF: Daniel Murphy (2008- .313, 2 HRs, 17 RBIs). Murphy only played 49 games for the Mets last season, but he's already a fan favorite. Murphy doesn't have the starting job yet, but I think he'll be able to take it.

CF: Carlos Beltran (2008- .284, 27 HRs, 112 RBIs, 25 SBs). Beltran had a simliar season to the year he had in '07, but they desperately need him to get back to the 41 HRs he hit in '06 if they want to get to the World Series.

RF: Ryan Church (2008- .276, 12 HRs, 49 RBIs). Church started off great last year and looked like he was going to have a monster year. But two concussions knocked him off course last year and he ended playing only 90 games. Look for him to have a good, healthy year this year.

C: Ramon Castro (2008- .245, 7 HRs, 24 RBIs). Castro isn't the starter, as the Mets will most likely go with a platoon at that position this year, but he should be the starter in my opinion. Castro put up great offensive and defensive numbers in only 52 games last season.

Bench:

Fernando Tatis (2008- .297, 11 HRs, 47 RBIs). Tatis split time with Murphy out in left field last season and ended up resurrecting his career. Look for Tatis to get plenty of playing time this year.

Brian Schneider (2008- .257, 9HRs, 38 RBIs). Schneider played great defensively last season, but his offensive numbers went down again last year and if Castro is healthy this year, Schneider will see a reduction in playing time.

Alex Cora (2008- .270, 0 HRs, 9 RBIs). Cora struggled last season as a Red Sox, but he's always been a reliable, healthy bench player his entire career.

Jeremy Reed (2008- .269, 2 HRs, 31 RBIs). Reed was once a top prospect in the Mariners organization, but his offensive struggles over the past seasons caused Seattle to trade him to the Mets this year. He should see decent playing time this year.

Marlon Anderson (2008- .210, 1 HR, 10 RBIs). Anderson struggled greatly last year, but also battled injuries, so he's almost certainly guaranteed a roster spot if he's healthy this year. Anderson has been the Mets best pinch-hitter over the past two seasons.

Starting Rotation

1) Johan Santana (2008- 16-7, 2.53 ERA). Santana posted up Cy Young calibar numbers last season and the Mets need him to follow up that act with an even better one this season.

2) Oliver Perez (2008- 10-7, 4.22 ERA). Perez posted up second-highest totals in innings and strikeouts last year, but gave up a lot of walks and home runs as well. Look for him to decrease those numbers this year.

3) John Maine (2008- 10-8, 4.18 ERA). Maine started off the year great, but injuries and inconsistencies later on in the season caused a dip in production. If Maine's shoulder is fully healed this season, look for him to have an All Star type season.

4) Mike Pelfrey (2008- 13-11, 3.72 ERA). Pelfrey finally had his breakout season last year, posting 32 solid starts for the Mets last season. If the Mets are going to make the playoffs this year, they need him to duplicate those numbers again.

5) Freddy Garcia/Tim Redding (G 2008- 1-1, 4.20 ERA) (R 2008- 10-11, 4.95 ERA). Garcia only started 3 times for the Tigers last year and is looking to bounce back this year. Redding started off great for Washington last year, but dipped at the end of the year. He needs to prove himself this year with the Mets.

Bullpen

Francisco Rodriguez (2008- 2-3, 2.24 ERA, 62 Saves). Rodriguez came over from the Angels after setting the MLB record for single-season saves. Dont' look for the same season this year, but he'll be an All-Star.

J.J. Putz (2008- 6-5, 3.88 ERA, 15 Saves). Putz was the closer in Seattle last year, but now he's changing to the set up man and will definitely dominate if healthy).

Brian Stokes (2008- 1-0, 3.51 ERA). Stokes came over from Tampa Bay last year and even though he only pitched in 33 innings, he has solidified himself as the team's 7th inning man this year.

Duaner Sanchez (2008- 5-1, 4.32 ERA). Sanchez had a nice season coming off surgery in '07, despite a decrease in his overall velocity.

Pedro Feliciano (2008- 3-4, 4.05 ERA). Feliciano struggled mightily at the end of the season last year and it was doubtful if he was going to come back this year. But the Mets kept him and he's looking to better his name this year.

Sean Green (2008- 4-5, 4.67 ERA). Green put up decent numbers in his second full season in the league and was part of the J.J. Putz trade this offseason.

Casey Fossum (2008- 3-1, 5.66 ERA). Fossum put up good numbers against lefties last season and the Mets definitely need another left-handed reliever if they don't sign another free agent and I think Fossum is that guy.

That raps up the Opening Day Roster for now.

Mets snag Perez to 3 year, $36 million deal

Well the Mets starting rotation seems all but set now. Today, after a couple weeks of negotiations, the Mets agreed to a contract with their starter pitcher, Oliver Perez. The Mets will give Perez 12 million a year of the next 3 years, with an option for a fourth year, worth around 8 million. In total, the deal between the Mets and Perez could come out to about $44 million over the next four seasons.

I wasn't really in favor of the Mets bringing back Perez, as I thought they needed to shake things up and bring in a pitcher that's capable of being a number 2 starter behind Johan Santana. I still don't believe Perez is that pitcher just yet and in theory, with John Maine's health a question mark, the Mets are bringing Perez back to be the number 2 starter. I was kind of hoping the Mets would bring in Ben Sheets, a pitcher very capable of backing up an ace (C.C. Sabathia in Milwaukee last year). But the Perez signing all but ends the Mets chase of Ben Sheets and more than likely ends any talks the Mets had of bringing back veteran Pedro Martinez.

Perez started 34 times for the Mets last season, compiling a 10-7 record with an ERA of 4.22. Perez threw his second highest innings total in his career (194 innings) while striking out 180 batters (also his second highest total). The only negative about Perez last season was that both his home runs allowed and walks allowed were up from the season before (2007- 22 HRs, 79 BBs, 2008- 24 HRs, 105 BBs).