Diamondbacks Sign Jon Garland

According to several reports, the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed Jon Garland to a one-year contract that includes a club option for 2010.

There had been rumors that the Mets were mildly interested in the sturdy, steady, yet unspectacular righthander, who won 14 games last season.

Garland would have been a nice addition to the back of the Mets’ rotation, as they need an innings-eater and he has hurled at least 190 innings and won in double digits for each of the last seven years. He would not have been the type of guy to put the Mets over the top, but considering all the question marks in the rotation currently, it would have been nice to have a “sure thing” in place. One cannot overestimate the value of having a starter take the ball every fifth day and giving the team 6 innings.

In any case, Garland’s signing means that the Dodgers may turn their attention to LHP Randy Wolf, who also has been connected to the Mets this winter.

Certainly the Mets need to sign at least one more starter, preferably two or three. The question is whether they’ll lock up Oliver Perez, which is looking more and more like a necessity, or if they’ll roll the dice on Ben Sheets.

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.
  1. Andrew Vazzano January 28, 2009 at 6:31 pm
    Argh. The Mets should have signed him.
  2. kerelcooper January 28, 2009 at 10:15 pm
    I think Omar has the blinders on and all he sees in his sights is Oliver Perez. He better sign him…..
  3. upson January 29, 2009 at 12:12 am
    My guess is that Omar has made up his mind and decided to bring back both Ollie and Pedro. It remains to be seen whether the decision to prefer Perez over Sheets is the right one but I do not mind having Pedro back at a reasonable price. Not only we need to have insurance in case Maine (and/or Garcia) goes down, but the Mets should also try to better manage the number of innings pitched by Santana and Pelfrey next year… I mean, Pelfrey looked pretty tired down the stretch last season and we cannot rely on Johan to pitch 234 innings a season next 5 seasons — especially if we want to play postseason as well.
  4. isuzudude January 29, 2009 at 8:12 am
    Granted, Omar still has some time left up on the clock, but he is making his own bed this offseason. He missed out on trading for Javy Vazquez, missed out on signing Lowe, is dropping the ball with Manny, and has given out a number of questionable contracts (Cora, Sullivan, Redding). If he has free reigns to make whatever moves are necessary to make the team better and is choosing to play patty-cake with the roster instead, then he needs to go. However, if his hands have been tied fiscally by own of the richest franchises in sports, then we need to be going after ownership HARD. This is a direct slap in the face to the fans by the Wilpons if they expect us to believe that they can take us for every dime we have at every corner and then play the field like a small market club. And though I want to take out my frustrations on Omar for being so passive this winter, I realize it may not be entirely his fault. Whatever the case, the Mets are setting themselves up for disappointment again in 2009, and it’s inexcusable. Three strikes and you’re out.
  5. jonn2 June 21, 2010 at 2:47 pm
    comment2,