Filling the Holes

Carlos Delgado is out for at least two months, Jose Reyes is “day to day”, Alex Cora is out indefinitely, J.J. Putz may or may not have a chronic elbow issue, and Brian Schneider (yes, he’s still officially a Met) is hanging out with Oliver Perez in Port St. Lucie — and neither have a timetable for return.

Did I miss anyone?

Naturally, the question is, are the Mets serious about inserting Ramon Martinez in the sixth spot in the order on a daily basis, or will there be changes made to the current roster?

Over at NY Sports Dog, Dave Singer suggested that the Mets flip Martinez for Argenis Reyes and work a deal for both Mark DeRosa and Kelly Shoppach. Several blogs are wondering about a promotion for Fernando Martinez, who is suddenly lighting up the International League. Some rumors have the Mets talking to the Nationals about Nick Johnson. Afternoon talk radio is suggesting tons of other possibilities. (Hat tip to MetsToday reader Micalpalyn for pointing out many of these links.)

What will the Mets ultimately do? Most likely, nothing.

Unless Reyes is out for an extended period — meaning, several weeks — I doubt we’ll see any big-name players come to the Mets. And we hopefully quelled the fear that Reyes is THAT hurt. Someone like Mark DeRosa would be great, but I don’t see the Mets handing over the package necessary to obtain him. The pie-in-the-sky suggestion by Singer that the Indians might consider Jon Niese, Omir Santos, and Eddie Kunz for DeRosa AND Shoppach is a pipe dream (sorry, Dave) — those players might not be enough for DeRosa by himself. Similarly, I doubt the Mets are going to go nutty and obtain someone over the top like Matt Holliday, as many fans have hoped. The organization simply can’t afford to trade away any more of their major prospects, and I don’t know that they’re ready to ship off Ryan Church, Bobby Parnell, or J.J. Putz, the only men on the 25-man who immediately come to mind as legitimate trade bait.

The Mets might be able to pick up Nick Johnson, but not until the Nats’ asking price (Manny Delcarmen from the Bosox?) drops considerably. And before they get that desperate, let’s see what “first baseman of the future” Danny Murphy can do, huh?

As for Ramon Martinez, I’m not too confident in his ability to replace Reyes over a two-week period, if that becomes necessary. But I’m not sure I like the other in-house options any better (Argenis Reyes, Jose Coronado, Jonathan Malo).

If they’re not going to keep Martinez around, and not going to sign free-agent utilityman Alex Cintron, I say go for broke and give Reese Havens a one-week audition — especially if you think you’d be happy with Mark DeRosa filling in at short. Havens right now is considered a decent hitter with power but the jury is out on his defense. In other words, a young version of DeRosa. Crazy? Maybe. But a small-market team would consider such a move. The big-market Mets, though, likely won’t.

As for Fernando Martinez, I’m not sure it makes sense to promote him now — where would he play? I suppose he could play some left field while Gary Sheffield is at DH during interleague play, but isn’t that a slap in the face to Jeremy Reed, who is hitting very well and playing excellent outfield defense? F-Mart is getting close to forcing the issue, but he’s not there yet. And the Mets aren’t desperate to add yet another outfielder to the mix — Jerry Manuel already has too many options to juggle. If F-Mart hit from the right side, and/or played 1B, I might think differently. Let him continue to build his confidence. When he’s dominating AAA, then promote him. There’s a difference between a hot streak and domination.

Another name that comes to mind as a good fit is Damion Easley, as suggested at MetsFever. But he’s one of “Willie’s guys”, so don’t expect that phone call to be made — no matter how much sense it makes.

And speaking of ex-Mets, where the heck is Jose Valentin? Wouldn’t right now be a perfect time for him to show up?

Post your ideas below …