Might the Mets have found a pair of young, cheap LOOGYs in Robert Carson and Josh Edgin?

We’ll get to Edgin soon enough. For now, let’s discuss Carson.

Robert Carson first came on the MetsToday radar in July 2010, when

Anthony Di Como is reporting that the Mets may be “in the running” for reliever Octavio Dotel.

If so, they’re at least a year too late — and probably, still a dollar too short.

While the third-place Mets passed on sending Robert Carson to Pittsburgh for Octavio Dotel, the third-place Dodgers pulled the trigger on acquiring Dotel for prospects James McDonald and Andrew Lambo.

Considering the Padres’ dominance and recent moves to improve their offense, this may be an example of too little, too late for LA.

The Mets have finally not made a move, by not trading a minor league pitcher to the Pirates for Octavio Dotel.

With the Mets in need of reinforcements for the stretch run, GM Omar Minaya has not added an arm to the bullpen.

Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets declined a trade that would have netted Octavio Dotel for minor leaguer Robert Carson. Carson is a big-bodied, 21-year-old lefthanded pitcher who touches 92 MPH — that in itself defines him as having some kind of potential. There are two angles buzzing around to the Mets’ refusal to part with Carson; the detractors scream about his 9.60 ERA over 3 starts in AA, while his supporters quote Kevin Goldstein’s preseason quote citing Carson as a “sleeper”. Who’s right? Who knows? Point is, Carson is an A-ball pitcher with an uncertain future — exactly the type of prospect that a team must give up to get a proven MLB veteran such as Dotel. At least 75% of the time, the prospect doesn’t make it past AAA (Evan MacLane), and about 3% of the time the youngster turns into an All-Star (Scott Kazmir, John Smoltz). In other words, it’s a crapshoot. Teams that are “buying”, and looking for the final pieces of a championship puzzle, are more likely to roll the dice. The Mets seem not to be sure whether they are buyers right now, and I can’t blame them. While Dotel would be an immediate upgrade over nearly every other member of their bullpen, he probably wouldn’t be a difference-maker — the team has other significant, unfillable holes that will keep them from getting over the Phillies and Braves.

So if the Mets are not “buyers”, are they “sellers”? Certainly not — the organization fears that publicly “throwing in the towel” on the season would result in poor attendance in August and September. They would much rather hope against hope that the current configuration can go on a miraculous streak and make a semi-serious run at the Wild Card — in turn selling plenty of tickets over the last eight weeks of the season.

By the way, here is a video of Robert Carson from this past May, courtesy of Scouting the Sally:

He certainly is a big, durable-looking kid. I like that he stays on a straight line toward the target (Isaac Newton had some good ideas) and he keeps his motion simple and compact. I’d like it even more if he committed his hips a hair later, stretched out that stride a few more inches, and pulled himself forward with that front leg. It appears he can take more advantage of his height and get his release point a little further forward. But he’s still young and can learn these things with the right coaching and repetition.

Seems that everyone in baseball is getting involved in the excitement of the annual trade deadline … heck, even the Pittsburgh Pirates are wheeling and dealing.

This morning, the Bucs sent Ryan Church (remember him?), Bobby Crosby, and D.J. Carrasco to Arizona (well, technically, they’re being “sent” to New York from St. Louis) in return for Chris Snyder and a minor leaguer.

Seems like an unusual trade for both sides — how often do you see two “sellers” hook up to make a deadline deal? The Pirates get a talented catcher who has been saddled with chronic back issues to add to a stable of backstops that already includes Jason Jaramillo and the similarly injury-prone Ryan Doumit. Doumit recently was placed on the DL with a mild concussion.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks get three over-30 veterans who are unlikely to be with the club next season. Both Church and Crosby have been terrible offensively in limited action with the Bucs, but Carrasco has been more than passable in a middle-relief role, sporting a 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 45 Ks / 22 BB in 56 IP.

Over the winter, I suggested that Crosby would’ve been a more efficient idea to be the utilityman than Alex Cora, and advocated him again when Jose Reyes went down. Despite the .220 average he’s posted with the Pirates, I stand by my original thoughts. Why? Because his monetary cost is half that of Cora and he doesn’t have an option kicking in for 2011. Further, his rancid .595 OPS is still about 60 points better than Cora, he’s shown some HR power in the past, and he can capably play all 4 infield positions. Crosby may not be a future manager some day, but he might have a few more granules of grit.

Not sure why I’m ranting about Bobby Crosby — it’s not like he would’ve made a difference on the 2010 Mets.

Carrasco, on the other hand, might have been a welcome addition to the Mets’ bullpen right now. I realize that the relief corps has been surprisingly good since the All-Star Exhibition, but we will be seeing more performances similar to Raul Valdes‘ last night as the arms get more worn and exposed. I’m a little surprised that the Mets haven’t yet acquired a low-cost, obtainable, usable reliever such as Carrasco. Though, I suppose that’s because Ryota Igarashi and Sean Green will be ready to return any day now (joy!).

Snyder used to be intriguing for his defensive prowess and power potential, but now that he’s closing in on age 30, there isn’t much hope for significant improvement. He could fall into the Rod Barajas category (little value when not slugging homeruns) or possibly sneak up into Miguel Olivo level (some value when not hitting homers).

The Pirates may be in the news again before the day is done, as the names Paul Maholm, Octavio Dotel, and Javier Lopez are being bandied about. Must be fun to be a Bucs fan this time every year.

They’re dropping like flies …

Setup man extraordinaire and former Met Octavio Dotel has signed a one-year deal with the Pirates, presumably to be their closer.

This really isn’t news to Mets fans because the Mets have PLENTY of bullpen depth, particularly in the setup role, having signed someone who has thrown 92 pitches since 2007 and the Jorge Julio of Japan.

Today is the last day for teams to offer arbitration to players who have filed for free agency.

If you are unaware, this is a big deal particularly in regard to free agents who are classified as “Type A” or “Type B”. When a team offers arbitration to those free agents, and the player signs elsewhere, the team receives compensation draft picks — one of which comes from the new team that signed the free agent. So for example, if the Mets sign a “Type A” free agent who had been offered arbitration by his former team, they would lose their 2nd-round pick in the June 2010 draft. Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors offers a more detailed explanation.

So when a “Type A” or “Type B” free agent is NOT offered arbitration, the eventual signing team doesn’t lose any draft picks.

Today, it’s been announced that, among others, Type A free agents Placido Polanco, Jermaine Dye, and Octavio Dotel, and Type B free agent Miguel Olivo have NOT been offered arbitration by their 2009 clubs. I highlighted these four because they all fit holes that need to be filled by the Mets.

MLBTradeRumors picked up this tidbit from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Octavio Dotel said he approached the club about his immediate future and a contract extension last month and was told he wasn’t in the plans. The reliever at least appreciated the Sox being upfront with him. As he turns his attention to free agency, New York is atop his wish list. The Mets are his first choice and the Yankees second.

Well, it would be a few years too late, but, heck, he’d slot right in as the top middle reliever on the Mets right now.

Though Dotel projects as a Type A free agent, that’s not a huge issue for the Mets. Since the team will finish as one of the worst 15 teams in MLB, they won’t surrender a #1 draft pick if they sign a Type A — though they will lose their #2 pick.

In 61 games this year, the 35-year-old reliever has a 3.36 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with 74 Ks in 61 IP.