What to do with Oliver Perez?

As it stands right now, Oliver Perez is not in the starting rotation for the New York Mets.  What’s left to be seen is where he’ll end up. 

All indications are pointing toward Perez heading to the bullpen as opposed to the minor leagues.  Another possibility is that Perez lands on the disabled list.  A report came out yesterday that said Perez had an ice pack on his knee before the rainout.

To me, that seems like a ploy by the Mets to slip him onto the DL and allow him to head to extended spring training without incident.

Perez cannot stay in the starting rotation at this pace.  His starts eventually lead to bullpen blowouts, hurting the team for the game he starts and even a few games after that.

Is the bullpen the best place for Perez to re-learn how to pitch?  Probably not.  Who will start in his place?  No idea.  Will it cost the Mets a player from the bullpen that they will likely need in a tough spot if they call up another starter?  Most likely.

For the last question, the most logical move right now is to slip Ken Takahashi into Perez’s spot in the rotation.  With a pitch count, hope he can get through four innings and patch together the rest of the game from the arms in the bullpen.  Not the best choice, but it keeps a roster spot from being swapped to call up a player from the minor leagues.

Options down on the farm include Brandon Knight, Nelson Figueroa, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, among others.  Figueroa or Knight will likely get the call if they cannot figure out Perez while he’s in the bullpen or if he has to go to the disabled list.

Perez has quickly become Omar Minaya’s albatross.  He’s not performing anywhere near expectations and is costing the team a whole lot of money.  Right now, the Mets don’t seem to know what to do with Perez and would like to stick him somewhere where he cannot kill the team. 

I think they’ll put him on the DL with a “knee injury” and hope for the best.  Get him some “rehab” starts in the minor leagues and hope he can turn things around.

If not…well…who knows…

(Ed. note: Big Spanish final today (or should I say “grande”?).  I’ll be back to post afterwards.  Hopefully nothing important breaks.  Oh, and wish me luck.)