Tuesday afternoon, Mets GM Omar Minaya held a press conference and indicated that he didn't think either Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes or Carlos Delgado would return until sometime in August. He also hinted that Delgado could be the first to return of the three.
Without those three superstars, the Mets will struggle to score runs and win ballgames. With that said, should Minaya choose to be a seller, and I doubt he will, who is his most tradable commodity? Ryan Church? David Murphy? Maybe. He can't trade Santana in this economic environment. Reyes? No, he's hurt. Beltran-ditto. David Wright?? Bingo!!!
Who needs a third baseman right now? Poring over the AL East, we see that the Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell is currently on the DL. The Red Sox are only 1 game in front of the Yankees heading into the All-Star break. Wright would be perfect for that lineup, and the Mets could make a killing in return. Minaya could start with AAA P Clay Buchholz, AAA P Michael Bowden, AA 1B Lars Anderson and AA OF Josh Reddick. Maybe substitute Bowden with Dustin Pedroia.
With one major deal, Minaya could bolster his roster with young talented starting pitching behind Santana and John Maine, replace Luis Castillo at 2b with Pedroia, replace Carlos Delgado at 1B with Anderson, and replace Ryan Church in RF with Reddick. Sure he would lose one of the top 3Bman in the majors, but he would get alot of young, controllable talent in return. This deal would also give him flexibility to spend in the free agent market in the off-season.
Should the Mets be buyers or sellers come July 31st at 4pm??