Headlines

  • Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez
  • Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rotation Concerns

By Tim Dierkes | May 7, 2006 at 11:54pm CDT

Reader Brian M. recently asked:

"Where do the Mets turn now that Victor Zambrano is out for the year?  Bannister will be back in week or so, but with Maine also being placed on the DL, and Lima getting slammed today, the Mets need one more arm.  Do they turn to Heilman (the obvious choice, but Mets brass are too stubborn to take him out of the ’pen)?  Time to search free agency?  Perhaps time to trade Victor Diaz?  What should they do, and what do you think they will do?"

Good question, Brian.  The Mets currently have a rotation of Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Steve Trachsel, and Brian Bannister.  Bannister is eligible to come off the DL on May 12th, but his actual return date is uncertain.  John Maine can return on May 18th, which is also no lock.

Today marked the next round of Lima Time, and it wasn’t pretty.  He’ll probably remain in the rotation anyway until Bannister gets back.  For the next few weeks, I expect the Mets to pair Lima with their last remaining option from the Norfolk rotation: Jeremi Gonzalez.  Gonzalez will probably get two or three starts this month for the Mets; he has a 3.03 ERA through six Triple A starts this year.  Jason Scobie is a longshot; he’s performing poorly so far and is more of a minor league lifer.

Yusaku Iriki, never a great option, will be out until June with a steroid suspension.  With just two Double A starts under his belt, promoting Mike Pelfrey right now could be a tad risky for one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.  Jeremi Gonzalez is a fine fifth starter for the rest of May, and I’m not sure he’ll do much worse than Pelfrey would.  With Billy Wagner’s finger in doubt, the bullpen cannot afford to lose Aaron Heilman.

Come June and beyond, a fifth starter of Gonzalez/Lima/Maine won’t cut it.  Bannister profiles as a fifth starter himself, and Trachsel something of a fourth.  The Mets are going to be looking for a solid #3 type.  Both Pelfrey and Alay Soler have the goods, but are they ready for The Show?

Soler is a 26 year-old Cuban defector who breezed through Single A and has had one good start at Double A so far.  Baseball America says he has two plus pitches and big-game experience, so he may be closer than some people realize.  Back in 2003, the Yankees gave Jose Contreras just six starts in the minors before promoting him.  Contreras went 7-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.15 WHIP for the big club that year, posting the highest strikeout rate of his career.  Soler could provide a similar shot in the arm in mid-June, and I’d probably promote him over Pelfrey.

Omar Minaya will be prowling the trade market regardless.  If the Cubs are out of it by July, Greg Maddux might make a good fit.  Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito will also have the rumor mill churning in a few months.  If Minaya decides to bring in more of a #4 type, he can make a play for Joel Pineiro or Gil Meche from Seattle, maybe Kip Wells from the Pirates if he’s healthy.

Here’s the problem: Lastings Milledge is tearing up Triple A, and he is the one trading chip the Mets have left that can bring a #2-3 starter.  I do not expect the Mets to trade him.  Young outfield prospect Carlos Gomez has been overmatched at Double A so far, and Victor Diaz needs to start hitting to get his stock up.  Double A first baseman Brett Harper could be part of a package, as could Triple A 2B Jeff Keppinger.  17 year-old outfielder Fernando Martinez would be a nice prize for a team like the Pirates or Mariners and is the best prospect the Mets can offer not named Milledge.

To review: Omar’s options are A)Soler/Pelfrey, B)trade Milledge for a true #2-3, or C)get a second-tier guy for Diaz and a few other mid-level prospects. 

If it were up to me?  I’d try everything under the sun to get Schmidt from Brian Sabean without including Milledge, starting now.  In the meantime I would promote Soler in June and give him a good 5-7 starts.  If Soler does well, I’d stand pat at the deadline knowing that I could still use Pelfrey if necessary.  If Soler bombed, I would offer Fernando Martinez and/or Victor Diaz to get the best available starter.  This is what I expect Minaya to do as well, perhaps settling for a Diaz/Pineiro swap when nothing reasonable comes along.

One last aggressive option up for debate: would Omar give up Milledge to acquire Dontrelle Willis at the deadline?

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Mets

Craig Hansen A Starter?
Main
Olney: Cards Considering Stewart/Hunter
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Recent

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago Cubs

    Latest On Rockies’ Expected Deadline Approach

    Kolby Allard Elects Free Agency

    Rangers Re-Sign Billy McKinney To Minor League Deal

    White Sox Outright Vinny Capra

    White Sox Sign Kyle Tyler To Minor League Deal

    Nationals Sign Luis Garcia

    Poll: The Yankees’ Biggest Need At The Deadline

    Yankees Place Mark Leiter Jr. On IL With Fibular Head Stress Fracture

    Rhys Hoskins Expects To Be Out Roughly Six Weeks

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version