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May 13, 2008 Mets Injuries Joe Janish

Roster Moves Aplenty

This spot-starter on Wednesday thing is sure going to ruffle some feathers on the Mets’ roster.

According to Adam Rubin, the promotion of Claudio Vargas is a done deal. That means Tony Armas, Jr. and Adam Bostick — currently the two best starters down in N’Ola — are staying put.

However, Rubin also suggests that Nelson Figueroa — and not Joe Smith — is the one going down (as I suggested) because “…a Vargas call-up would mean he’s in the rotation for more than one turn.” Not sure I agree with that one. On the contrary, my guess is that the Mets feel that Vargas has the best chance of clearing waivers on the way back down — and I’m also guessing they’ll send him right back down the next day. Vargas didn’t have too many teams clamoring for his services after being dropped by the Brewers, and his near-five ERA in AAA isn’t helping his value. Armas, on the other hand, is pitching fairly well through a significant sample (eight starts).

Rubin, though, has better inside info than me, and his reasoning is this: Vargas stays up and Jorge Sosa is DFA’d to make room for Matt Wise. If that’s the case, I’d bet the house that Sosa and his 7+ ERA clear waivers and he accepts a plane ticke to New Orleans.

More interesting news from Rubin is that Fernando Tatis could be on the way up, and Angel Pagan heading to the DL. Pagan’s shoulder is still bothering him since crashing into the seats running after a fly ball a week ago. Tatis is only hitting .242, but has 10 homers in only 120 at-bats. The homerun total could be a function of the small parks of the homer-friendly PCL, but I still think it’s a good idea to bring up a guy when he’s on fire. Strangely, though, Val Pascucci — with 5 homers in 49 ABs, a .306 average, and .735 SLG%, remains down on the farm. Neither Pascucci nor Tatis is currently on the 40-man, so I’m not understanding the “business” behind the move.

Though, it could be that Tatis can play second base, and Luis Castillo’s injured quad may be worse than we know.

The “official” moves could be coming as early as this afternoon, so I’ll keep you posted.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. isuzudude May 13, 2008 at 3:58 pm
    It appears as though Omar has finally heard our cries. The latest news (via metsblog) has the team DFA-ing Sosa and Figueroa and DL-ing Pagan to make way for Claudio Vargas, Matt Wise, and Fernando Tatis. Joe Smith stays, and we also now have a right-handed hitter who can play some 1B. Omar gets a gold sticker for making the right moves and not catering to Sosa’s contract. Good riddance of bad rubbish.
  2. Micalpalyn May 13, 2008 at 4:36 pm
    The promotion of Tatis was a loud yell for me. Not only has Omar dramatically exhibited a shorter leash for the pitchers, but Tatis as stated, heralds a possible platoon situation at 1st base.
  3. sincekindergarten May 13, 2008 at 4:55 pm
    While I applaud Omar’s moves, I hope that Figgy makes it through waivers. It’s pretty much assumed that Sosa will. Would Sosa go to N’awlins? Figgy could come back and fill the long relief role, because as it stands now, we don’t have a long man.
  4. wohjr May 14, 2008 at 6:03 am
    I would imagine that Sosa would accept the assignment to N.O., wouldn’t you? He hasn’t been exactly lights out so far. Agree also on Tatis– as much as I would have rather had lets-go-tay over him to start the year, pagan and chavez strike me as being fairly redundant pieces. Any speculation as to why Pascucci wasn’t considered here? I do like versatility but it might be time to look for a more permanent (or at least platoon) solution at 1B… doesn’t easley fill the role of backup infielder? Why not give Val a look and at the very least hopefully light a fire under corpse carlos?
  5. joe May 14, 2008 at 9:02 am
    wohjr, I also wondered about Pascucci but my guess is the Mets are concerned about Castillo, and want 2B depth behind Easley — Tatis can handle the keystone adequately. Of course, there’s Marlon Anderson, but for some reason he isn’t used in the infield much anymore.

    Plus I think after being one of the last cuts of ST, and getting along with the other players and coaching staff, he’s a better fit right now. Despite Pascucci’s hot hitting, he’s sort of an unknown quantity to Willie Randolph.

  6. wohjr May 14, 2008 at 9:53 am
    Joe-

    Agreed. I was wondering about the whole Marlon Anderson thing too… it doesn’t seem to me too long ago that he was starting 2b for the cards? Or am I getting old? Anyways, I think the “Italian Bazooka” is pretty intriguing, if only from the kitch/devoted fan following perspective (I’m thinking Sal Fasano style here…) but point well taken with Mr. Tatis. The critical part of these move(s) was keeping Joe Smith with the big club so overall I’m happy with it, despite the peripheral quibbles.