It wasn’t bad enough that the Phillies stole Wilson Valdez from the Mets, but now it’s come to light that the Dodgers have won the heated offseason bidding war for Argenis Reyes.

How is this fair? Why must the rich always get richer? “To the victor belong the spoils” is a concept that is nearly 200 years old and does not belong in MLB. How will there ever be parity or fairness in baseball when perennial postseason teams like Philly and LA can cherry-pick the best “backup to the backups” from every other organization? Bud Selig needs to table ancillary issues such as instant replay and steroids and address the big problems such as this that are truly killing the game.

In 2008, Argenis Reyes was lauded as someone who was seemingly “in the middle of everything” — at least, according to the SNY broadcast crew. It was de rigeur to root for Argenis — the undersized career-minor leaguer getting his first big break — and boo Luis Castillo, who had become an out-of-shape, injury-prone, underperformaing albatross.

What a difference a year makes.

Castillo righted the ship and became something of an ironman at second base (compared to other 2009 Mets anyway), re-establishing himself as an on-base machine and .300 hitter. Castillo’s comeback was central to Argenis remaining in AAA.

His best position is second base, but Argenis is also adequate at shortstop, so it

Two weeks short of the anniversary of the trade of Anderson Hernandez for Luis Ayala, the Mets have reacquired the slick-fielding middle infielder from the Washington Nationals.

Almost immediately upon arriving in Washington last year, AHern swatted the baseball like he never did before, batting .333 with a .409 OBP in 28 games and 91 plate appearances, walking 10 times and striking out only 8. That offensive outburst was enough to make us wonder if the Mets made a mistake in giving up on the previously light-hitting Hernandez — who perennially leads the Caribbean winter league in batting but flops upon returning to the States.

However, Hernandez went right back to his expected offensive output this year — .251 AVG, .310 OBP, 41 Ks in 255 times to the plate. So we can presume that 28-game hot streak was an aberration.

So it’s interesting that the Mets would bring him back to Flushing, considering he is redundant to Wilson Valdez and Argenis Reyes — both of whom remain in Buffalo. Though, personally, I always enjoyed watching AHern and given the choice of all three, would take him over Reyes and Valdez.

In return for AHern, the Mets sent A-ball infielder Greg Veloz to the Nats. Veloz is sort of a 21-year-old version of Hernandez (or Argenis Reyes) — a switch-hitting middle-infielder with above-average speed. He doesn’t have the fielding prowess of AHern nor Argenis, and in fact there was a time that the Mets felt he’d hit enough to move to 3B (he was their #16 prospect in 2008 according to Baseball America). However, he hit a disappointing 6 HRs in a little less than 600 plate appearances last season, and is hitting only .232 with 2 HR through 91 games thus far this year.

For a moment, I questioned why the rebuilding Nationals would trade away a still-young, Gold-Glove caliber second baseman but I guess they don’t see AHern hitting enough to ever be a regular. And, they have acquired a youngster who is quickly becoming a non-prospect but still has time to rebound. It’s not like the Nats are going anywhere in 2010 nor 2011, so they have time to wait.

With the arrival of AHern, I’m guessing that Luis Castillo’s “mild ankle strain” is worse than originally indicated.

Just in case Alex Cora breaks his leg, the Mets have signed Argenis Reyes as a backup plan. Reyes is expected to begin the season in AAA Buffalo.

Reyes flashed a decent glove, a lot of hustle, and not much else in his 49 games with the Mets in 2008. His most valuable asset — according to the SNY broadcast team — was his being “always in the middle of something.” High praise for a guy who hit .218 with a .259 OBP and .245 SLG (who knew it was mathematically possible to have a slugging percentage lower than your OBP?).

In addition, the team brought back another former Met, LHP Tom Martin. Martin would have been a great addition six years ago, when he had a career year with the Dodgers and had a 3.53 ERA in 80 appearances. He pitched in Flushing in 2001 and posted an eye-popping 10.06 ERA in 14 games. Hopefully he can improve upon that in his next go-around with the club.

Interestingly, Martin — who turns 38 in May — was released by LA during spring training last year and pitched five innings for the Long Island Ducks, striking out six. From my point of view, it’s a so-so signing — more paint on the wall.

Hopefully the signing of Martin will not block the return of Ricardo Rincon, who did an admirable job in 8 appearances last September.

According to Mets.com, the Mets have agreed to terms with Alex Cora.

Well I guess that’s it — the offseason roster makeover is complete!

Cora should step right in to left field and provide the Mets with the much-needed power bat they need to …. oh, wait a minute ….

Last I checked, Alex Cora was a light-hitting middle infielder with a good glove and a good attitude. The kind of guy who is a capable middle infielder and can play a few other positions in a pinch without embarrassing himself (he’s played one career game each at 1B and LF, and has played 16 at 3B). On an American League team, he is an ideal backup / late-inning defensive replacement second baseman / shortstop for a team that has offensive-minded middle infielders. He’s also a good guy to have around in the event of an injury, as he can play competently for stretches at a time.

In other words, he’s Damion Easley, except that he has zero power, not as strong a bat overall, is a lefthanded hitter, and a better fielder. Oh wait, so maybe he compares more closely to Argenis Reyes or Anderson Hernandez … except he’s not a switch-hitter. And he costs at least four times more.

In short, I’m not sure about the logic behind this signing. With a roster comprised of a dozen pitchers, bench spots are precious, and need to be filled by people who can play both sides of the game — offense and defense. Cora doesn’t have much of a bat, and is only an average baserunner. I’m assuming he can bunt. He does have a career .264 average as a pinch-hitter, which is pretty good. However, as a lefthanded hitter, he strangely has a much better average against lefthanded pitchers — not righthanders — and we know that Jerry Manuel will either not notice this fact or ignore it, and use him exclusively against righthanded pitchers.

Speculation is that Cora would push Luis Castillo, and possibly take over second base eventually. Hmm … so, the Mets won’t go after Orlando Hudson because they don’t want to eat Castillo’s contract, but it will be OK to bench Castillo (and, effectively, eat his contract) to play a mediocre talent such as Cora at the position? More to the point, does this mean that the Mets find Cora to be a better low-cost alternative for second base insurance than, say, David Eckstein?

I don’t mean to bash Cora — I actually believe he’s a solid all-around ballplayer. Nothing special, but solid. He’s not unlike Miguel Cairo. A good guy to have on the team, if you can afford the luxury. And that’s where I have a problem. The Mets supposedly don’t have the money to spend on a top-flight pitcher such as Derek Lowe, but they have no problem spending an unnecessary $2M for a veteran utilityman that is not necessarily an upgrade over a player who would cost the league minimum (such as Argenis Reyes, Alex Cintron, Angel Berroa, Chris Burke, or Ramon Martinez). This is my point: if you are willing to spend $2M for a utility infielder, why in the world aren’t you spending it on someone like Nomar Garciaparra, Mark Loretta, or Ray Durham — in other words, a guy who you know can give you an offensive boost? Because last I checked, the Mets don’t need a defensive replacement for Jose Reyes nor David Wright — and I’m not seeing Castillo leaving games because of his defense, either. (Loretta, by the way, signed for $1.25M, and would have been a much more interesting option to platoon with / push Castillo).

Overspend for a substitute player of which there is a surplus of talent, but underspend for starting pitching. Not exactly the trend followed by championship ballclubs.

The Yankees have taken Cash directly from the Red Sox — Kevin Cash, that is. Fitting? Ironic? You make the call. In any case, yes, it’s true, the Yanks have signed backup catcher Kevin Cash.

Speaking of swiping backup backstops, the Washington Nationals signed Gustavo Molina — formerly of the New York Mets. Wait till they find out — as the Mets did — that Gustavo is NOT one of the “Molina catching brothers”, despite being named Molina, and despite being a catcher.

Further intriguing, the Nats also signed pitcher Gustavo Chacin. They now lead all of MLB in Gustavos. Meantime, the Mets no longer lead the league in Reyeses … Argenis has been released and Al is expected to sign elsewhere.