Sheets to the A’s; Now what?

This leaves the Mets to pick from, again in no particular order:

• John Smoltz
• Erik Bedard
• Jon Garland
• Chien-Ming Wang
• Jarrod Washburn

Did I miss any?

$8 million for Ben Sheets

Ben Sheets will cost a team $8 million, according to Jon Heyman, who spoke to an NL executive.

The Mets are one of the many teams to watch Sheets throw last week.

Sheets hit 92 mph on the gun, according to those that were there.

I’m all for bringing Sheets aboard for the Mets.  He is, by far, the best pitcher still on the market, injury history or no injury history.

Twitter Poll: Which free-agent starters would you like to see on the Mets?

With the starting pitchers flying off the shelves, the Mets are now left with a few injury-prone players and some that just aren’t very good.

I asked my Twitter followers which starter they would like to see on the Mets come 2010.  Here are some responses…

dtmfr: Ben Sheets, because he's got the highest reward (provided he stays healthy)

TheRealHoov: Jon Garland....he may not be glossy, but he's consistent and an innings eater

thesolomind: Wang

NYSportzNut: Sheets hands down - only starter available that has the upside to make the Mets a playoff contender.

Do you agree with these selections?  Who would you sign if you were GM?

Clearing up the Ben Sheets stuff

Yesterday, I posted a little tidbit about the Mets and  free agent Ben Sheets.  I included some Twitter responses as well.  And Kerel Cooper even posted a video response.

Let me clear something up on my stance regarding Sheets…

Sheets, when healthy, is a premier pitcher in the game.  But he’s rarely healthy.  Even when he’s pitching, he’s usually not 100 percent.

I would support the Mets efforts in tracking and possibly signing Sheets on a incentive-heavy contract.  But in no way do I want the Mets to look at Sheets as their go-to guy that will solve their rotation woes.

Sheets should be an addendum to whomever the Mets sign/trade for.  In no way can you rely on an arm that missed all of the previous season to to injury and surgery.

The thing with Sheets is, it’s not “if” he gets hurt, but rather “when” will he get hurt.  After, as Cooper said, we just witnessed a “bizarre season” of injury, there’s reason for fans to be wary. 

If Sheets can come out and pitch in 20-25 games as “old Ben Sheets,” missing a month or two to injury, I would consider it a success.  He’d hopefully give you better quality performances than most of the rotation that is already in place for those 20-25 starts. 

Obviously, this all hinges on Sheets health coming into 2010 and if he’s even ready to pitch again. 

As commenter dances_w_vowels wrote on the post yesterday, “He had an injury, he didn't lose his stuff.”

Take a chance on him.  Bring him in, see what he can do and hope he works out.  Just as long as you’re not relying on him to shore up the rotation.

Is Ben Sheets a possibility?

Ben Sheets, who missed all of 2009 with an arm injury and subsequent surgery, could be an intriguing possibility for any team willing to take a chance on the oft-injured pitcher.  The Mets may be one of those teams.

In 2008, Sheets appeared in 31 games, pitching 198 1-3 innings.  He posted a 3.91 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP.  He notched a 7.2 SO/9.

Last night I pondered if the Mets should take a chance on Sheets, on Twitter.  Here are some responses I got…

Mets_Fever said: Johan and Big Ben would be a great 1-2 punch

kerelcoop said: considering all the injuries we just had, I can't take a chance on Sheets. I wouldn't feel comfortable.

samtpage said: Sheets was the best thing to come out of that report. If he gets injured, no biggie. Lackey injured (as usual), 70mil wasted

Frank_Guate said: SHEETS IS AMAZING when he’s in the game... but is a high risk... now the new contract can be full of incentives...

mattsito said: but what they need is solid and dependable, not another roll of the dice. Ollie, Pelf, & Maine are risks of a different sort

What is your take on the Mets possibly adding Sheets for next season?

Scratch Sheets

A torn flexor tendon in his right elbow is standing between Ben Sheets and a major league contract.

News broke today that Sheets will get surgery to repair his injured arm, and might be able to pitch this season -- in August.

So count out Sheets for now, but you never know. Say Oliver Perez goes down in August and the Mets need a boost in the rotation. A rehabbed Sheets wouldn't be the worst option.

Hey, you never know.

Sign Ben Sheets, if and only if...

By bringing Oliver Perez back on board, the Mets rotation looks something like:

1. Johan Santana
2. Mike Pelfrey
3. Oliver Perez
4. John Maine
5. Tim Redding / Freddy Garcia / Jon Niese

With that rotation, and the surplus of possible No. 5 starters on the 40-man roster, I think the Mets should bring on Ben Sheets, if and only if he's halfway healthy.

The pitcher understands that he's injured, and from what we've seen with his career, if he can get out there, he will. Yes, he spends a lot of time on the disabled list, but I feel as though the Mets have enough arms to suffice in a time of need.

Say Sheets makes only 20 starts. That leaves roughly 13 more starts to fill in. I'm confident a rotating cast of Redding, Garcia and Niese could put together a bakers dozen worth of decent starts in his absence.

The Mets have seen, over the past two seasons, that every game is extremely important. If they can get 15 good starts out of Sheets, he might be worth the money. (Notice I haven't talked contract figures yet.)

I'm not quite sure what I'd be comfortable seeing the Mets offer Sheets. They still have a few more cogs to fit in the machine, such as a left-handed arm and possibly another bat, so I don't think they're chomping at the bit to sign him. Still, they should explore all their options and see how much he's really asking.

He'd be playing on a competitive team, much more so than Texas, a team he's been talking to of late, and would be on the big stage to try and set up for a nice payday after one or two years.

Sheets should adopt a lyric from ABBA: "Take a chance on me!"

Did I really just quote ABBA? Yikes.

Zeno's Paradox: Signing Oliver Perez

If you're unfamiliar with Zeno's Paradoxes, one of them states that, "Before a moving object can travel a certain distance, it must travel half that distance. Before it can travel half the distance it must travel 1/4 the distance, etc. This sequence goes on forever."

That's how it seems the Mets are progressing with Oliver Perez.

Every time I hear a rumor, the Mets are "getting closer" or are "a bit closer" or "almost there."

With the market thinning, now with Jon Garland and Andy Pettitte off the market, it leaves really only Perez and Ben Sheets as viable options for the Mets.

They need a No. 2 or 3 starter, and though neither are a perfect fit, the Mets cannot enter the season and expect their current rotation to compete.

The State of the Mets -- 1/23/09

Here is the third edition of my weekly web show, The State of the Mets.

Topics covered: Freddy Garcia, Ben Sheets vs. Oliver Perez and The Mets and the Yankees.

Joining my for the Yankee segment was Andrew Fletcher of Scott Proctor's Arm, and during the goodbyes was Jeremy Schilling of JSchil.Wordpress.com.

Papers abuzz with Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte rumors

The Sunday papers are filled with column and articles making the case for the Mets and Ben Sheets (and Andy Pettitte too.)

John Harper thinks Sheets and the Mets should happen:

If they're going to try and win a championship with a pitching-dominant formula, then they need to think hard about signing Ben Sheets.
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The righthander, who turns 31 in July, was 13-8 with a 3.08 ERA last season, and was mostly injury-free until injuring a flexor tendon in his elbow in September that rendered him ineffective late in the season and sidelined him for the Brewers' playoff series with the Phillies.

Still, Sheets did throw 198 innings last season, four more than Perez, and consistently flashed the combination of mid-90s fastball and killer curve that make him one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy.

I agree with Harper. When healthy, he's one of the best. The Mets need to take a chance here and sign Sheets if they want to compete in 2009.

David Lennon confirms that Sheets is and Pettitte is not on the Mets radar:

Two of the most intriguing names still available are Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte, with the Mets only recently showing interest in the former Brewers ace. A person familiar with the situation said yesterday that Sheets is now being discussed, but it's unclear what the parameters of such a deal would be.

The oft-injured Sheets is a calculated risk, and in this market, so late in the offseason, he could wind up being a relative bargain. As for Pettitte, a person familiar with the club's thinking said the Mets are not involved with the former Yankee.

At least Minaya remembers there are other pitchers besides Oliver Perez. I think I would actually prefer these two pitchers over Perez.

Finally, the reason to sign Sheets may not be to just get him on the Mets' staff, but rather to keep him out of the Phillies hands. From Boston.com:

2. Ben Sheets, RHP, free agent: While Texas appears to be considering Sheets, don't be shocked if Philadelphia has interest as well. The Phillies have been arbitration-strapped, with a huge outlay likely headed Ryan Howard's way. The Phillies are trying to find a way to get someone of Sheets's caliber on their staff.

Minaya, please sign Sheets, just so the Mets don't have to face him five times a year.

Too much talk, not enough doing. It's been a good off-season so far, but the Mets need to make a few more splashes before they're ready for 2009.

More Jon Garland and the Mets rumors

A-ha! Someone seems to be listening.

Peter Botte in the Daily News:

The Mets have maintained regular contact with the representatives for free agents Randy Wolf and Jon Garland as fallback options if they don't retain Perez.

Get one of them and either Oliver Perez or Ben Sheets, and I will be a very happy Mets fan.

The State of the Mets -- 1/15/09

Here is the second edition of The State of the Mets.

I cover Derek Lowe, Ben Sheets, Oliver Perez and Alex Cora.

Enjoy.

(Ed. note: I'm slowly improving this. Soon, you won't have to stare at my ugly mug the whole time.)

Our first Ben Sheets rumor

With Derek Lowe becoming the newest enemy, the Mets are forced to look down the list of free agent pitchers to fill the hole in their rotation.

Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets both appear on that list. We've heard a few rumors lately about Perez, but really nothing has been brought up about Sheets.

Ben Shpigel stops all that, with this: "They are also weighing a run at Ben Sheets, but are wary of his injury history."

Finally.

Sheets, when healthy, is an excellent pitcher. Too bad that is a very big "if."

Also in the article, Shpigel points out that the Mets have been unwilling to offer four years to a starting pitcher this season, and only granted one to Francisco Rodriguez in the form of a vesting option.

If the Mets were to sign anyone for four years, I'd prefer it to be Perez, simply due to his age (27). Sheets is too risky to sign for that long, but a one- or two-year deal would be fine with me. Laden it with incentives that he can earn if healthy to keep him pitching and motivated and you'd pretty much have a steal if he can start 25 games.

Mets still confident

Ken Davidoff:

The Mets remain confident that they'll eventually land one of their top two choices to upgrade the starting rotation - either Derek Lowe or Oliver Perez.

He then goes on to look around baseball for teams that were searching for starters this year, and brings up quotes and signings that show the market for these two isn't very good.

Still, I'm yet to hear any Ben Sheets rumors for the Mets. Obviously, no team would sign this guy long term, due to his knack for getting hurt, but a two-year deal may make sense for a few, the Mets being one of them.

When Sheets is healthy, he's a top-notch pitcher, but that is a big "if." Still, a two-year deal, worth, say $8 million per year. He made $11 in 2007, but his injuries should limit the amount of money he gets paid.

Lowe, Perez and Sheets are still on the market, and the Mets absolutely need another starting pitcher. As of right now, Lowe is far and away the most popular choice in the current poll, garnering 43 percent of the overall votes. Sheets is in second with 25 percent and Perez has picked up 18 percent.

I'll take any of them.