Acquiring Andre Ethier "would be a solid gamble" for the Mets, Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone opines. Ethier could be forced out of the Dodgers outfield by Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke, making him expendable at a discount price since it is believed the Dodgers would have to absorb at least half of the roughly $80MM remaining on Ethier's contract. The Mets would be paying around $10MM per season to a player Cerrone sees as "a nice compliment to Lucas Duda in left field," but it would be the first step in the Mets upgrading their outfield now and this winter in the free agent market.
Here's some more on the Amazins from ESPN New York's Adam Rubin, who covered a number of topics during a live chat with readers today…
- Ike Davis could be a trade candidate if the Mets thought he wouldn't be worth his growing salary over his arbitration years. A Rubin source on another team projects Davis to earn $6.1MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility this winter, "assuming his production normalizes somewhat the rest of the way." This could be a big if, as Davis has managed only a .509 OPS through 201 PA this season. Davis signed a one-year, $3.125MM deal last winter in his first taste of arb-eligibility.
- Rubin isn't sure if the Mets see Daniel Murphy as an extension candidate since "a New York team doesn't normally have to be consumed with locking up a player's arbitration years." Murphy signed a one-year, $2.925MM deal last winter and is arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter. The second baseman has been a bright spot for the Mets this season, hitting .290/.323/.439 and tying for the NL lead with 19 doubles.
- Pedro Feliciano has been on the minor league disabled list since May 9 with a "very serious" type of food poisoning that "can affect the person off and on for years." The southpaw hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2010 after suffering a variety of arm injuries as a member of the Yankees in 2011-12. Feliciano signed a minor league deal with the Mets in January.
