The Mets avoided arbitration with all four of their arbitration-eligible players today, signing each to a 1-year contract.

• RHP Manny Acosta signed for $875,000.  He figures to be in the Mets bullpen when Opening Day comes around.
• RHP Mike Pelfrey signed for $5.675MM, roughly the amount most experts expected he would win in arbitration.  For better or worse, Pelfrey will be in the starting rotation because he can rack up innings.
• RHP Ramon Ramirez signed a 2.65MM deal.  The key piece of the Angel Pagan trade will be the Mets’ seventh or eighth inning arm.
• OF Andres Torres, the other part of the Pagan deal, agrees to a $2.7MM contract.  Will he be 2010 Torres or 2011 Torres?  Either way, to paraphrase Casey Stengel, you need a center fielder, because without one, there would be a lot of inside-the-park home runs.

The Mets haven’t gone to arbitration with any player since Oliver Perez (*shudder*) was awarded $6.5MM in 2008.  Before then, they hadn’t gone to arbitration since 1992, when David Cone was awarded $4.25MM.  He was traded that season to the Blue Jays for Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson.

Pitchers and catchers will begin to seep into Port St. Lucie in about a month, and with not much hope left in an already gloomy offseason, perhaps getting around to the business of playing ball is just what the psychiatrist ordered.

The Blogs begin to look ahead:

• Always Amazin’ thinks the lower payroll in 2012 could turn out to be the trend.
• Real Dirty Mets asks: which Mets alumnus or alumni would you like to see at Citi Field during the team’s 50th anniversary celebrations? (Sorry, this is for retired players – Jose Reyes doesn’t count)
• Optimistic Mets Fan wonders what smaller changes may be in store for Citi Field in 2012.
• Daily Stache looks at what must go right for this season to be a success.  Hint: It’s a lot.
• Metsmerized says former highly-ranked-prospect-for-some-reason Wilmer Flores is being phased out of shortstop.
• Mets Fever wonders if the Mets will grock another LOOGY.

Keep checking out Mets today for the latest news, player evaluations, opinion, and more!

C’mon, you knew this post was coming … an offseason of blogging simply isn’t complete until there is a “Manny to the Mets” rumor — right?