The Mets currently sit at 31-27, three games out of first place in the NL East and three games back in the Wild Card race. With just less than two-thirds of the season left, the Mets are going to need to make some things happen if they want to make the playoffs.
1) Carlos Beltran Needs to Return Before/At the All-Star Break
Carlos Beltran had been an important part of the Mets lineup for the past five seasons. The Mets are clearly missing his production in the middle of the order. While Jason Bay, Angel Pagan, and Jeff Francoeur have been good this year, none of them has shown the elite power than Beltran has.
Beltran would instantly give the Mets another run producer. Having Beltran return would also allow the Mets to platoon Pagan and Francoeur in right field. Francoeur is a notoriously streaky hitter and this option would allow the Mets to avoid some of his terrible cold streaks.
2) John Maine Returns to Form after Recovering From his Injury
John Maine is a very important piece to the back end of the Mets rotation. Maine struggled significantly during the early parts of this season. He saw his walk rate rise from 4.2 BB/9 in ’09 to 5.7 BB/9 this season. One positive this far from Maine’s starts has been that he has posted a career best 8.8 K/9. If John can straighten things out and maintain this high strikeout rate, then he can once again post a low 4.00 ERA, if not better. This would stabilize the back end of the Mets rotation.
3) Acquire a Middle of the Rotation Starter
The Mets already have two top of the rotation starters in Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey. However, they do not have a true number three starter. The Mets should look into a few different pitchers. Javier Vazquez appears to have recovered from his early struggles and would not be very expensive. He has had a lot of success in the National League and would be an interesting option.
However, it is hard to believe that the Yankees will trade him if they are still in contention. A name that has not been mentioned but would be a good pickup for the Mets is…(view the rest at www.mrmetsdaily.com)
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