The Mets need a left-handed starter

The Mets are sorely lacking southpaws on their pitching staff.

As the depth chart stands right now (sans Tim Redding), the Mets only have three lefties between their rotation and the bullpen. Johan Santana and Jon Niese on the starting staff and only Pedro Feliciano in the bullpen comprise the lefties on the team.

To be successful, the Mets need to sign or trade for some more.

The team has focused on two free agent starters to fill the void in the rotation. Derek Lowe, a righty, and Oliver Perez, a lefty, seem to be atop the Mets wish list, in that order. With Redding now a New York Met, and likely becoming the fifth man in the rotation (or at the least the long man and spot starter), should the Mets look to Perez first and Lowe second?

Friend and fellow blogger Josh Levitt brings up this point on his blog Jorge Says No!:

I think that Omar Minaya should back off his pursuit of Derek Lowe. With rumors swirling that the Braves are going all in on Lowe, now would be a good time for the Mets to step aside and focus their efforts on Oliver Perez, who is only 27 and great against lefties. Lowe would be a wonderful addition to the Mets rotation, but at this point I'm skeptical about giving him a fourth year or another $10-$15 million more than the Mets original offer (3 years/$36 million).

Levitt absolutely hits the nail on the head here.

Though I'd love Lowe on the Mets, I think the smarter play here if for Perez, at least given their current situation. Perez has shown his ability to win in big games (even if he couples that with loses against sub-.500 teams) and would provide the Mets with another lefty arm on the staff.

With guys like Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley all batting left handed, the Mets need another southpaw. (Yes, I realize these are all Phillies, but the rest of the teams in the NL East don't really have any feared left-handed hitters. Plus, these are three of the biggest boppers the Mets will face in any division, so it just makes sense.)

The Mets should shift focus to signing Perez. Lowe would be nice, but Perez seems like the better fit right now.