On the Mets beat

That's the not-so-subtle hint Jerry Manuel dropped during last night's broadcast of Mets Hot Stove on SNY. In answering a question about the oft-injured second baseman, the Mets manager said, "If Luis Castillo remains with us," which is hardly a strong endorsement. You can check out the video clips here and here, with some quickie commentary from myself and Jon Heyman.

I go back and forth on Castillo. I was actually a big proponent of re-signing him after that first half-season with the club in 2007 because I liked the fact that he played hard and actually seemed to care if the team won or lost (something that I couldn't say about everyone that year). Of course, I didn't expect him to get that four-year, $25-million contract, which was excessive to be sure. Maybe I underestimated just how much that contract-drive played a factor in his solid performance on two bad knees toward the end of 2007.

The reality is that he's on the team now, and has a bloated contract that is difficult to move, so I don't think that Castillo is necessarily a lost cause -- no matter how much he is hated by the fan base. If he was sincere in his talks with the Mets this offseason -- when he pleaded to stay and promised to get in shape -- then maybe Castillo can return to some semblance of his All-Star form. At his best, Castillo is a great on-base guy and an excellent second baseman, if only his body is not too broken down to salvage at this point.

No blue-light specials here. Despite all the trade talk next week that is sure to invoke the name of Fernando Martinez, the Mets are not prepared to deal him, a person familiar with the situation told me yesterday. In that sense, Martinez is in the same category as Mike Pelfrey was a year ago during the Johan Santana discussions. The Twins kept pushing for Pelfrey and the Mets kept saying no.

Martinez came up again yesterday in a report by Baseball Prospectus that suggested he could be used in a "blockbuster" deal for Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks. Interesting rumor, but flatly dismissed as "nothing there" by a person familiar with the situation. With the Mets' outfield still in flux -- possibly at two positions because of Ryan Church's health -- the team continues to have faith that F-Mart, just 20 years old, will occupy one of the corner spots at some point.

While it's certainly a red flag that Martinez's arrival in the majors has been derailed by numerous injuries -- hand surgery, leg issues -- remember that Jose Reyes couldn't stay healthy during his early development either. The Mets believe F-Mart is still young enough to wait on his potential, and his recent performance in the Dominican Winter League gives them reason for optimism.

The Mets just announced the signings of four players -- all to minor-league contracts.

Here's the official release from the team:

FLUSHING, N.Y., December 3, 2008 – Righthanded pitcher Nelson Figueroa, who was 3-3 with a 4.57 ERA for the New York Mets last year, was one of four minor league free agents who signed with the club today. All four players, lefthanded pitcher Adam Bostick, infielder Andy Green, catcher Rene Rivera and Figueroa received non-roster invitations to spring training.

Figueroa, 34-years-old, made six starts for the Mets in 2008. He worked 45.1 innings, surrendered 48 hits, 26 runs, 23 earned, with 26 walks and 36 strikeouts. He was also 4-7 with a 4.43 ERA in 20 games (16 starts) for New Orleans (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League last year. He has a 10-20 record with a 4.64 ERA in 90 major league games, 39 starts.

Bostick, 25, had his season limited to 11 games after undergoing left knee surgery on May 27. Adam went 2-2 with a 6.04 ERA with New Orleans last season. In 44.2 innings, he allowed 48 hits, 30 runs, earned, with 20 walks and 30 strikeouts.

Green, 31, split the year between the Cincinnati Reds’ Louisville team of the International League and the Mets’ New Orleans club. He was released by Louisville on July 1 and played his first game for New Orleans the next day.

Primarily a second baseman, Green hit .233 with 15 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 19 RBI for Louisville and .331 with 10 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 28 RBI in 52 games with the Zephyrs.

He played in the major leagues in 2004, 2005 and 2006 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and has a .199 career average in 136 games. In 2007, he played in 18 games with the Hokkaido Nippon Hamfighters of the Pacific Division of the Japanese Professional Baseball League.

Rivera, 25, had been the Seattle Mariners’ organization since 2001. Last year, he performed for two teams: Jacksonville (AA) of the Southern League and Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .231 in 38 games with Jacksonville and .271 in 38 contests for Las Vegas.

Rene performed in 53 games with the Mariners in parts of 2004, 2005 and 2006 and has a .227 big league average with seven doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI.

With this offseason dominated by the closer debate, as well as help for the rotation, there remains the not-so-small matter of what the Mets plan to do about their outfield.

Whether or not Ryan Church is happy in New York seems to be of little consequence because I can't see him being traded at this point. What could the Mets possibly get in return? There's no guarantee Church will ever fully recover from the two concussions he suffered last season, and that is likely to scare other teams away -- or at least severely damage his trade value. The Mets must simply cross their fingers, hope for the best and then maybe make a deal midway through the season if he still has trouble.

The Mets are set in centerfield, obviously, with Carlos Beltran (and his full no-trade clause) signed through 2011. But that brings us back to left, where the Mets apparently have Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy ready to platoon again. Depending on what GM Omar Minaya has to sacrifice in order to improve his pitching staff -- in dollars and prospects -- he may choose to go the platoon route again. Don't laugh. If Tatis doesn't dislocate his shoulder on that botched diving attempt in DC, the Mets probably hold on to make the playoffs last year.

But if Minaya does have money left after spending $45-$50 million on a closer and perhaps another $60-$75 million on a starting pitcher, where does he go for another outfielder? The Mets love Raul Ibanez -- as do about a dozen other clubs. But he was offered arbitration by the Mariners and would cost them an additional two draft picks.

Knowing that, as my colleague Ken Davidoff pointed out, would the Mets rather try for someone like Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn, two players who were not offered arbitration? It's an interesting conundrum. More and more these days, teams are reluctant to part with draft picks, and especially the Mets, who need to upgrade their farm system. By comparison, money is not such a big deal.

Now I know how Luis Castillo and Aaron Heilman feel after reading the comments from that previous entry.Yeesh.

I admit the blog has been a little slow lately, but I've been on jury duty the past three weeks, as well on vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday, so it's been tough to provide more extensive content lately.

Trust me, things will pick up shortly with the winter meetings and I promise to provide more updates and analysis now that I've finally been freed from the jury box.

Hey, at least the Mets are keeping themselves out of the police blotter, right?

As expected, the club offered salary arbitration to Oliver Perez, who obviously won't take it as he seeks a longer-term deal under the direction of Scott Boras this offseason.

In other news, Nick Evans was examined this morning at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan -- right next door to Plaxico's doc -- and was diagnosed with a mild right quadriceps strain. Evans hurt himself playing the outfield in the Puerto Rican Winter League and is headed to Phoenix for three to four weeks of physical therapy.

Hey everybody, Chris Mascaro here filling in for Mr. Lennon. Yesterday I spoke with Jose Reyes, who met with patients at the Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park (you can see video from the event down the right side of this page).

Here is the story from today's paper, in which Reyes spoke about the need for a closer and his desire to have Pedro Martinez back next year.

Here are some leftovers (even before Thanksgiving!) from Reyes:

On seeing the Phillies win the World Series: "It's kind of tough to see them win because we're in the same division. But at the same time, we have to say 'congratulations' to them because they played better than us, better than everybody. That's why the won the World Series, so you have to give credit to them."

On playing for the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic: "You get to represent your country. That's the most important thing to me. You just try to be there and try to do whatever they ask me to do."

(Reyes added that the Dominican team is well stocked at shortstop, as Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada are also likely to play.)

On Brian Fuentes after saying that he'd rather have Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez on the Mets: "He's good too. He's good."

(Reyes is 2 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI off Fuentes and is 1 for 2 off K-Rod. You can find those numbers by scrolling through this.)

On Luis Castillo: "He got a lot of injuries last season, so that's kind of tough to play like that. He just started working out and he says he's going to be ready for next season. We know what he's capable to do in the field. "

On Castillo's leadership: "No doubt he helped me. How many Gold Gloves did he win? He's great defensive-wise at second base. Last year, he got a lot of injuries, so he wasn't able to play the way he normally plays."

On playing with five different second basemen last season: "I'm used to that already, so I don't mind. I get comfortable with anyone there."

On yesterday's event: "You can see how happy the kids are when they see me, so that's really important for me and for them."

Reyes signed hats and pictures of him for the children, and posed for photographs with them. He mentioned that he is also involved in building a new baseball field for children in the Dominican Republic.