Quick Hits: Mets, Harang

The Tidewater Mets may just be the best team you've never heard of, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. With B.J. Upton and David Wright manning the left side of the infield, Ryan Zimmerman was forced to split time at second (with Mark Reynolds), and Justin Upton was relegated to bench duty. Of course, those Mets were a high school travel club. Now, through a combination of the draft, extensions, free agency, and trade, all of those players (excluding Reynolds) are stars on their respective National League East clubs.

• The New York Mets could be buyers at the trade deadline whether or not the club is in contention, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. With Davidoff expecting an active in-season trade market, he says that the Mets could target big bats such as Carlos Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, Chase Headley, Giancarlo Stanton, Carl Crawford, Josh Willingham, and Alfonso Soriano. As this outfielder-heavy list suggests, and MLBTR noted earlier today, the Mets appear to be interested in acquiring a premier outfielder.
• One way or another, Mets fans should prepare for life without a hot-hitting John Buck, writes Daniel Nelson of MetsmerizedOnline.com. If the backstop fails to cool off and return to his historical levels, Nelson believes that the club will likely try to flip him for young talent.
• Aaron Harang threw 180 innings last year, logging a 3.61 ERA. In 2011, he tossed 170 innings with a 3.64 ERA. Yet the Rockies dumped him to the Mariners right after he was offloaded by the Dodgers. The reason is simple, according to Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner: Harang's worsening walk and strikeout rates make him "basically a worse version of Jon Garland." Of course, Garland joined the Rockies when Seattle let him walk rather than promising a rotation spot.
• Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik addressed the Harang trade, saying that the deal was motivated in large part by Erasmo Ramirez's health issues, tweets Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle. The Seattle GM also noted that, if the 34-year-old Harang is not yet ready to start, he will work out of the bullpen until another starter moves there permanently, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com and Drayer. (Twitter links.)