Waiver Wire

By Kevin Casey

According to mlbtraderumors.com, two significant players were released by their respective teams today, both of which could present a huge upside for the Mets at little to no expense. First, the White Sox released RHP Daniel Cabrera, the once heralded starting pitcher prospect from the Baltimore Orioles organization. Cabrera was on the open market last year, and signed late with the Washington Nationals. After putting together lackluster numbers, he was released and signed by the White Sox. Last offseason, many people close to the Mets pushed for them to sign Cabrera as a reclamation project. Well, here he is. He's there for the taking. Signing Cabrera to a minor-league deal and throw him on the Bisons and hope for him to rekindle his past "stuff" cannot hurt. Secondly, the Nationals released Elijah Dukes today. According to the team's press release, this had nothing to do with his infamous off-field issues, but was simply a roster move (most likely to make room for Jermaine Dye). However, Dukes has 1 minor league option left and is only 25. He has huge potential if he is treated the correct way, with kid gloves. I am not sold on Jeff Francoeur, and putting Dukes in Buffalo to start the season is not a bad idea. The way the Mets fell apart last year and so far this year, the Mets cannot have enough able bodies. If the Mets do go this route, the first signs of trouble from Dukes should end his shot with the team.

Both these guys could bring about big returns on a small investment. Just some food for thought.

Matthews & Santos: A Perfect Trade Package

By Michael B. Dowd

With Angel Pagan expected to be the team's Opening Day center-fielder and main replacement for injured Carlos Beltran, it's time for Omar Minaya to start some Spring Cleaning.

Gary Matthews, Jr - the recent acquisition and Beltran insurance plan, is hitting over .300 this Spring. He would look amazin' in a package with buried catcher, and inspirational 2009 story, the bad-luck Omir Santos.

Santos, at one point, was named the Mets starter behind the dish - as the squad headed to Spring Training, but the acquisitions of veterans Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco --- sent Santos so far down the depth chart that he won't even be starting at Triple A because the Mets need to give prospect Josh Thole the bulk of the playing time there.

That leaves Santos and his seven homers, 14 doubles and 40 RBIS in just half-a-season's at-bats (281) - with nowhere to go - except to an another organization.

Matthews, a serviceable outfielder with some pop, had 19 doubles and 50 RBIS .... also in just about a half-season last year (316 at-bats).

Omar -let's take Omir and Little Sarge & send them out of town. I like both players .... but I think that most clubs would look at these players as excellent backups or even starters in some cases. Let's use these assets to grab the eighth-inning set-up guy we never received when Kelvim Escobar's arm went bad.

Impact of Reyes Injury

By: Bryan Zarpentine

The debate on where Jose Reyes will bat in the lineup can officially be put on hold. With news this week that Reyes may not partake in any physical activity for 2-8 weeks almost guarantees he will begin the season on the disabled list. Like his injury last year, this one has a vague timetable and leaves the team short-handed, and forced to carry on without its most dynamic player.

With Reyes out for an unknown period of time, there will be even more pressure on the Mets pitching staff to perform at a high level, especially the starting rotation. With the offense depleted, the performance of Mets pitchers will be the primary factor in the early season success of the team. If the Mets are to win enough games in April and May to stay in contention they will need to rely on their pitchers to win those games for them. It will not be enough to simply keep the Mets in the game and give their offense a chance; the starters must be able to carry the team on their back until Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can return.

Besides the added emphasis on pitching, the injury to Jose Reyes creates an equally intriguing question regarding who will replace Reyes at shortstop. The obvious choice to replace Reyes is veteran Alex Cora, but an option that perhaps makes more sense is 20 year-old Ruben Tejada. The main argument between the two is a preference of offense vs. defense. Tejada hit an impressive .289 at AA Binghamton last year, but there is no telling how that will translate to the big league level after skipping AAA completely. Cora on the other hand is an experienced major league hitter and should be more adept at helping to produce runs than Tejada. However, Cora does not have as much range or arm strength at shortstop that as Tejada; and a combination of Cora and Luis Castillo would leave the middle infield defensively vulnerable. With the added necessity on quality pitching, it’s imperative that the Mets put their best defensive lineup on the field, which would leave no doubt that Ruben Tejada should be the Mets opening day shortstop.

With Jose Reyes once again sidelined for an undetermined amount of time, the Mets must put added emphasis on their pitching and defense to help them win games. Ruben Tejada is the best bet to fill the void at shortstop, providing the defensive support Mets pitchers will need to succeed. The Mets will need those pitchers to perform beyond expectations if they are to compete in 2010. They have one guy in Johan Santana they know they can depend on, but until Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran come back, they are going to need the rest, now more than ever.