In December of 2010 (gosh, it seems like so long ago) the Mets lost two left-handed relievers to free agency when Hisanori Takahashi signed with the Angels and Pedro Feliciano hooked on with the Yankees. Since then, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com notes, the Mets haven't signed any lefty bullpen help to offset those losses. We've heard plenty about the club's plans to search through the bargain bin for a starting pitcher, but what southpaw relief options do the Mets have?
The Mets have been linked to Brian Fuentes who would certainly go a long way to help bolster their 'pen. The tall left-hander turned in a 2.81 ERA last season with 8.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in his walk year. However, unless the Mets plan on expanding their budget, they likely won't have room to sign Fuentes and the starter that they're after.
Veterans such as Joe Beimel, Will Ohman, and Ron Mahay could probably be had on the cheap. We know that Dennys Reyes will come at a reasonable price after he almost inked a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the Phillies. Rubin also floats the names of Tim Byrdak and Randy Flores as possibilities. While none of these players would be a particularly flashy acquisition, all of the Mets' in-house options are surrounded with question marks. Trying Oliver Perez in relief is one such option, but his recent play in the Mexican winter league has been less-than-impressive. If you were in Sandy Alderson's position, what direction would you go in?
trade him for a bucket off balls(not literally). trade hime for 2 rookie ball nothing special prospects