Put Up Or Shut Up For Omar

As a Mets fan, this winter could be a cold and long one. Right now all I hear Omar Minaya talking about is having to make a trade to bolster the team responsible for the second worst collapse in baseball history (I still feel the Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the ALCS is #1). The free agent market is not all that appealing unless you're looking for a high priced castaway. All the good players were signed by the Yankees already.

If you're going to hang your 2008 hopes on your ability to make a trade for a front line starter and get a starting catcher, then we're in some trouble. Omar has a great track record for stealing some gems in deals. (ie: John Maine and Oliver Perez) But he's not playing with a particulary strong hand right now. The Mets farm system is depleted and their "trade-able" chips on the roster may not be so appealing to anther team. Who in their right mind wants Carlos Delgado right now? Not me!!

Here's my solution: You already signed your starting catcher when you gave Ramon Castro a two year multi-million dollar deal. We all know he refuses to play unless he 100% so it's a good idea to have a strong backup in place but Castro has shown he's got the ability. Why not give him a shot as your #1? And if a front line starter is what you're looking for, look no further than your bullpen. Aaron heilman is wasting away in the bullpen and begging to be put into the rotation. And Minaya seems to be the only GM in baseball who wouldn't give him a shot as a starter. Now you have Pedro, Perez, Maine and Heilman as your top 4 starters. Go out and get a decent #5 to try to replace some of the 200.1 innings Tom Glavine is taking with him to Atlanta (I'll get to that later).

Now you can keep the "gems" you have in the minors. All you need to do is replace Heilman in the bullpen and I hear Duaner Sanchez can help with that. But if you decide to overhaul the entire bullpen, I wouldn't oppose that either because they all had their struggles and who knows if Sanchez will ever be the guy he was in 2006?

The most pressing issue should be making a deal with Luis Castillo. He showed he can be great in the #2 slot in the batting order and since Paul LoDuca is apparently not coming back, you're going to need a guy who can get on base and advance a runner.

Once that is done, look to put together a package with Anderson Hernandez, Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman (if you're still not convinced he can be a starter) for the starter you're going to need. But if you do trade any combination of those guys, you better come back with more than a #5 starter.