Jermaine Dye to the Mets?

These Mets – White Sox rumors are only getting hotter. Now it’s reported that the White Sox are looking to trade outfielder Jermaine Dye, and have been specifically scouting Mets prospects Bobby Parnell and Eddie Kunz in the Arizona Fall League.

From Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune:

Tuesday night, several Sox officials watched Mets pitching prospects Bobby Parnell and Eddie Kunz pitch for the Peoria Saguaros in the AFL. Two scouts believed Parnell, 24, was too valuable for the Mets to deal and believed Kunz, a projected closer, needed more seasoning in the minors.

Parnell and Kunz, 22, have sinking fastballs that Williams seeks to neutralize hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field.

Strangely enough, the idea of the Mets dealing for Javy Vazquez was squashed:

Regarding Javier Vazquez, one scout doubted any talks involving him and the New York Mets would crystallize until the Mets resolve their closer issues.

Not sure why a scout would say such a thing. Yes the Mets are desperate for a closer, but they’re more desperate to fill two huge holes in their starting rotation. The ninth inning means very little if you don’t have anyone to get through the first five or six frames.

I like Dye, he’s coming off an excellent season, and he’d fit nicely between Beltran and Delgado or Delgado and Church in the lineup, but he’s going to be 35 in January. Aren’t the Mets trying to get younger? If the cost is both Kunz and Parnell, then it’s a fair deal for both sides, but the possibility of trading for a strong closer becomes more difficult. I wouldn’t think twice about trading two unproven minor leaguers for a bonafide all-star, except that Ken Williams has been remarkably successful in acquiring and trading young arms in recent years. Has he been lucky, or is his scouting staff that good at assessing and projecting pitching talent?

In any case, I wonder if Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams will indeed pull off a blockbuster as suggested yesterday, or if this could be reminiscent of the 2005-2006 offseason, when the Mets made two separate deals with the Marlins to acquire Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca. One way or another, it appears as if these two GMs are talking, and could be trade partners before the winter solstice.