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.
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.
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.