The Mets are working to acquire a setup man for new closer Francisco Rodriguez — and that setup man would be another closer from the American League West.
J.J. Putz could be headed to the Mets in a three-team trade with the Mariners and Indians, according to major-league sources.
Mets right-hander Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez and first-base prospect Mike Carp would be in the deal, as would Indians outfielder Franklin Gutierrez.
It is not yet clear which players are headed where.
Matthew's Addendum: Mike Carp is a name we've bandied about before as wanting from the Mets, back in good times when we thought Jarrod Washburn was to be no more. Obviously, we wouldn't know where the proposed deal sends which players and likely there would be other names involved, but the general sense right now is that Carp and Heilman would end up with us. I am nonplussed for the moment.
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Jeff's note: My read is that, were this to go down, we'd actually be landing Franklin Gutierrez as the centerpiece. And that would be absolutely a-ok with me. Gutierrez's offense could stand to improve, but the straight defensive improvement over Raul would seriously be on the order of like 35-40 runs. There are worse trades to make.
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Matthew's note to Jeff's note: Getting Franklin Gutierrez certainly makes more sense from a roster standpoint and would actually be the better haul. I certainly hope that's the deal, though I wouldn't mind getting Carp as well as he's an interesting enough 22-year-old LH 1B with patience
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Jeff's note to Matthew's note to Jeff's note: I can already feel myself getting too invested in what's probably going to be another rumor that doesn't go anywhere.
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Update from Rosenthal:
Under terms of the deal, the Mets would get Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green from Seattle. The Mariners would receive reliever Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez and first baseman Mike Carp from the Mets. They'd also get Franklin Gutierrez from the Indians and minor leaguers. The Indians would get reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and infielder Luis Valbuena from Seattle.
If the trade is completed, one problem for the Mets could be that Putz wants to remain a closer. Asked earlier in the day if Putz would embrace a setup role for another team, his agent Craig Landis said "no."
From the Mets' perspective, the deal would be Heilman and Smith for Putz. Chavez and Reed would be an exchange of backup outfielders, Smith and Green an exchange of right-handed groundball specialists.
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Matthew's note to Jeff's note to Matthew's note to Jeff's note: Who looks stupid now?
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Graham's note to Matthew's note to Jeff's note to Matthew's note to Jeff's note: Bill Bavasi?
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