During the Rule 5 Draft, the Mets lost potential back-end starter / middle reliever Logan Verrett to the Orioles, but picked up lefthanded pitcher Sean Gilmartin from the Twins organization.

Additionally, the Mets lost four AA players during the minor-league draft: right-hander Greg Peavey (Twins), catcher Cam Maron (Reds), infielder Juan Carlos Gamboa (Padres) and right-hander Randy Fontanez (Dodgers). I don’t know much about any of these four players — other than the fact that Maron is from Hicksville, Long Island, and Peavey put up good numbers last year as a 25-year-old in AA.

As for Verrett, the Mets were expecting to lose him, but they didn’t think he’d have much of a chance to make their ballclub in the spring, so were comfortable leaving him off the 40-man roster. There’s a decent chance he doesn’t stick with Baltimore and is returned before the end of the season.

Gilmartin turns 25 next May. Of his 80 professional games, he’s started 79, but the Mets view him as a potential bullpen piece, and not necessarily as a LOOGY. He was a first-round draft pick (28th overall) in 2011 and, as recently as 2012, was the Braves #4 prospect. However, he struggled with shoulder problems in 2013 and dropped to #10 in the Braves’ system before being dealt to the Twins for Ryan Doumit. Gilmartin is a finesse pitcher who lives in the bottom of the strike zone and relies on painting the corners. From what I’ve read about him, he sounds like Pat Misch — which could turn out to be a valuable asset for the Mets in 2015. Nice gamble, nothing much to lose here.

No, they didn’t go to interview Sheriff Andy Griffith for a security position at Citi Field. And Gomer Pyle didn’t change their oil.

Rather, the Mets have signed John Mayberry, Jr. to a one-year, $1.45M Major League contract.

This may not be the signing that pushes you to buy a season-ticket plan. But it is a decent signing, and Mayberry fits what the Mets were looking for: a cheap, ordinary righthanded hitter who won’t embarrass himself in an outfield corner when Michael Cuddyer plays first base against lefthanded pitchers. The way I see it, Mayberry is likely to provide more production than Chris Young did last year, for almost $6M less.

Thoughts?

There’s been a ton of other news in the past day, and I’ll try to get to all of it.

The Miami Marlins have traded left-handed pitching prospect Andrew Heaney, second baseman Enrique Hernandez, righty reliever Chris Hatcher and catching prospect Austin Barnes to the Dodgers for Dee Gordon and Dan Haren.

BREAKING NEWS: the Mets have re-signed LOOGY Scott Rice to a minor-league contract.

Hurry over to Mets.com and purchase a season-ticket plan before they all sell out!