Kuzul

An injured player that returns can be like making a one-sided trade for your fantasy team. You can add a star player to your lineup while dropping your worst player. Sometimes the strategy pays off. Sometimes it blows up in your face. You have to take risks to win fantasy championships though.

Here are some injured players that you can store in your “bank” in hopes that they will pay dividends down the road.

Kendrys Morales, 1B, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Morales is a little scary right now because he seems to be getting worse, rather than better. You probably remember he broke his leg celebrating a walk off grand slam on May 29th last year. He has been experiencing soreness in his toe. Mark Trumbo, who has been dealing with an injury (groin) of his own, will keep first base warm for Morales. Kendrys hit 34 home runs in 2009 and had 11 in 51 games before going down. Unfortunately you’re going to have to still take him fairly early (64 average draft position) because of his potential. Hopefully he won’t spend too much time in your DL slot.

Curtis Granderson, OF, New York Yankees
Granderson strained his oblique, which could cause him to miss the start of the season. While that is disappointing news to fantasy owners, it could give you better value than his ADP (73) before the injury. Granderson hit 17 home runs and carried a .861 OPS after the All-Star break last year.

Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies 
Utley is another guy that comes with a risk thanks to a knee injury that will likely keep him out on Opening Day. Anytime a knee is involved, it’s a pretty sticky situation. Best case scenario is it heals fast and it doesn’t hinder his production. The likely scenario is Utley playing through the injury, but his numbers will be affected. The worst case scenario is Utley being shut down. We don’t really know what is going to happen with him. That’s what makes drafting Utley so scary. His ADP is 18, but sinking fast.

Grady Sizemore, OF, Cleveland Indians
Sizemore won’t play on Opening Day, as he recovers from a knee injury. When he returns, he will probably be limited initially. He isn’t a 30-30 threat this year, but he could post a 20 HR/20 SB season. His ADP is 99, which makes him a little bit of a risk. The payday could be great though.

Carlos Beltran, OF, New York Mets
Beltran is shooting for Opening Day, but given his injury history, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The main reason I like Beltran is his value. His ADP is 228, meaning you can get him around the 19th round of fantasy drafts. I don’t think he’ll ever post the numbers he did, as recently as 2008, but he could be a solid power/speed combo.
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Brian Wilson, RP, San Francisco Giants
Like Granderson, Wilson is dealing with a strained oblique. It is an injury that can be aggravated, but it’s not alarming at this point. Wilson remains one of the game’s elite closers.
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Johan Santana, SP, New York Mets
It’s gambling time. Johan won’t like pitch until the All-Star break, if he pitches at all in 2011. He’s an excellent second half pitcher, but will he be productive without having the first half to get warmed up?  With an ADP of 208, he is certainly worth the risk. If he is 75 percent of what he’s been after the break (65-23, 2.95 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), you could get a huge boost for the stretch run.
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Jake Peavy, SP, Chicago White Sox
Peavy’s return from lat reattachment surgery is dealing with rotator cuff tendinitis. It’s only expected to keep him out a few weeks of the season. He struggled a bit last year going 7-6 with a 4.63 ERA. I think he’ll be closer to the pitcher that went 9-6 with a 3.45 ERA with the White Sox in 2009.

Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinnati Reds
Cueto’s shoulder will sideline him for the start of the year. He still should have plenty of value for fantasy owners. His ERA and WHIP have gone down in each of the past two years. He’s worth considering towards the end of your draft.

Also check out:

• 2011 Fantasy Baseball Value Picks
• 2011 Fantasy Baseball Profiles
• 2011 Fantasy First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Closer Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Closer Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Closer Rankings

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

While many baseball experts already count the New York Mets out of playoff contention this early in the spring, the Mets have many athletes that can surpass expectations enough to make a legitimate comeback in 2011.

As the team continues to work hard in Port St. Lucie, here is a list of the seven recovering New York Mets that will have the biggest impact on the 2011 MLB season.

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On the heels of a recent story in the North Bergen Record by Steve Popper and Bob Klapisch, New York Mets fans are ready to pack it in already.

Let’s face it though: Most Mets fans have already packed it in, but there were a few still hanging on.

The article published yesterday cites unnamed members (as usual) of the Mets organization. It claimed that they’re ready to shut Johan Santana down completely because he has not been progressing as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired shoulder.

Popper and Klapisch completely embarrassed themselves on this one, in my opinion. To cite “unnamed sources” is nothing new in sports, but to not have follow-up statements from general manager Sandy Alderson, manager Terry Collins or pitching coach Dan Warthen should raise eyebrows among readers.

Yet people are already jumping all over this story, including ESPN’s Buster Olney, and making their way to their local churches to light candles and mourn the death of the Mets’ 2011 season.

Santana himself said he was “surprised” when news of the article reached him and said there have been no setbacks in his rehab.

For the sake of realism, let’s get a few things straight.

Santana is attempting to come back from major shoulder surgery. The idea that he’d come back and pitch is one thing, but thinking he can be a positive force for the Mets this season is something else entirely.

I expect Santana back some time around the late-June, early-July deadline the Mets have set. But do I expect the Mets to climb into first place upon his return and win the NL East? No.

That said, even if Santana did miss the entire 2011 season, how does that change anything?

It’s common sense for an organization anticipating the return of a player like Santana to not allow that anticipation to govern their decisions in March.

In other words, build the team as if Santana was never coming back. Put the best players on the team now, and worry about moving them to make room if, and when, Santana comes back.

That’s what the Mets have done this spring. Collins is expected to formally announce his starting rotation very soon, with Chris Young and Chris Capuano expected to join Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese.

If the Mets carry a long man, which they’re expected to, Collins has said he prefers Pat Misch.

The Mets have built their rotation to contend, not simply tread water until the life preserver that is Johan Santana returns.

Additionally, since when does the Mets’ season rest on Santana’s shoulders?

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks the Mets can contend this season, so there’s no way Santana is the difference between contender and the NL East basement.

Santana certainly carries potential and the possibility of winning a few extra games with him, but haven’t the Mets struggled to win as many games with Santana has they have in the three years he’s been here?

Most Mets fans will tell you that Santana has been a much better pitcher than the win/loss column would suggest. Still, the Mets still haven’t been able to get back to the postseason with Santana, so why does the idea of not having him set fans on edge?

Look, the Mets are a good team, they really are. If the Mets can stay healthy, get solid performances out of their starters and a bounce-back season or two, they should be able to contend for the wild card.

And make no mistake, I think having Santana would make that easier.

But not having him doesn’t send them straight to the basement from day one, and it certainly shouldn’t change anyone’s perspective of the Mets.

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The buzz in New York this morning is that Johan Santana’s season is in jeopardy for the Mets. Steve Popper and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record penned the story which appeared on the NorthJersey.com website.

The article includes extraordinary quotes from an unnamed Mets source, surrounded by stock information readily available about the plan to get Santana back on the mound by mid-summer.

It would be nice if reporters “onsite” in Port St. Lucie could actually confirm or deny how Santana’s rehab is actually going, since a “source” close to me actually watched him the other day. My neighbor came back from his vacation in Florida and said Santana seemed to be in great spirits as he moved about the Mets complex.

Let’s examine the three “revelations” without hyperbole:

1) “One member of the Mets’ organization said that the team is ready to shut down the rehabilitation schedule for Santana if he does not feel comfortable after what is expected to be a simple session of playing catch.“

If Santana hasn’t felt comfortable “playing catch” it’s apparently news to him. Stating he was “in shock” by today’s story should be all anyone needs to know about the lefty who spent his 32nd birthday dodging anonymous bullets.

2) “According to the source, Santana has not been progressing in his return to light throwing and the team is concerned enough to halt this section of his rehabilitation. By doing so, the Mets’ timetable of a possible late-June, early-July return to the team would likely be wiped out.“

The problem with this statement is that Santana isn’t scheduled to begin throwing off of a mound until next week. Somebody in the Mets organization should probably have alerted Santana about the delay before telling Klapisch or Popper.

3) “Internally, the Mets believe they’ll be “lucky” if Santana pitches this year.“

Mets employees have been allowed to publicly speculate on all aspects of the organization for years. A veteran reporter such as Klapisch simply BYPASSES any Mets employee who supposedly deals with media/public relations. Although some fans may feel that Klapisch has an “axe to grind”, he actually has a “job to do”. Loose cannons who collect paychecks from the Mets have been feeding him and the rest of the New York baseball writers with story content for years.

What should be appalling to Mets fans is why a consummate professional such as Sandy Alderson continues to let his employees say whatever they want to whomever they want.

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The Mets have a the fifth largest payroll in baseball. They have a shiny new stadium, they play in the largest market in America and have a roster loaded with talent.

For all this, the Mets are terrible. In every way imaginable.

The Mets won a total of 79 games last year—23 games behind their “enemies” the Philadelphia Phillies. They ranked 12th in attendance, despite the new stadium, and behind decidedly small market Milwaukee. They averaged over 12,000 less people per game than their crosstown rivals, the Yankees.

The Phillies, like the Mets, made trades for veterans, signed big contracts and generally succeed in their plan to win now. While that plan worked for the Phillies, it failed miserably for the Mets and only left them in a spiraling losing funk with an albatross of a expensive roster.

Let’s take a look at the Mets roster. Johan Santana, the ace the Mets traded for, finally blew out the shoulder that scouts have said for some time that he would. The injury, which comes from long-term wear, brings with it not only a long rehabilitation, but accusations of the Mets overusing Santana.

Santana had been complaining about his arm as early as late June. Yet the Mets continued to throw Santana out there every fifth day until early September, even though the Mets were completely out of the race by mid to late July. By the time Santana comes back in 2012, he will be 33 with three years left on his contract.

Carlos Beltran, who was an overpaid centerfielder to begin with, has mercifully only one year on his contract. A empty of husk of his former self, Beltran has played 125 games the past two seasons and has already injured himself in spring training. He batted .255 last year. He makes $18.5 million this year.

Jason Bay, who the Mets signed to a large four-year, $66 million contract before last season, looked completely uncomfortable and intimidated in the spacious new CitiField. One year after hitting 36 home runs in Boston, Bay hit a pathetic 6 home runs in 95 games before concussing  himself running for a fly ball.

Gary Matthews batted .194 last season before being cut by the Mets. He is set to earn $12 million this year.

One-time face of the franchise Jose Reyes, who at one time was getting press that he would be the new “Best Shortstop in New York,” is reportedly playing for a trade. Reyes, who made seventh on the MVP list in 2006, has been beset by injuries, a bad attitude and declining skills both at the plate and on the bases.

Last year, Reyes had a Dave Kingman-esque OBP of .321—not what you want from your “speedy” shortstop. Reyes speed is also in question as he only stole 30 bases last season and was caught a third of the time—a far cry from his heyday of 2006-2007. Reyes will make $11 million in what his probably his last year as a Met.

Which brings us to Oliver Perez. Perez, who was signed by the Mets in 2009 to a $36 million, three-year contract. Reportedly, the Mets competed only against themselves for the services of Perez, which was meant to solidify the rotation after Santana.

Since the contract was signed for that $36 million, Perez’s record is 3-9 with an ERA of 6.81 in roughly 100 IP. Perez has been in the minors both in 2009 and 2010 to work on his wrecked mechanics. Perez, having completely lost any confidence he may have had, has lost velocity and abandoned his fastball as well as his curveball, which he didn’t use last year at all. His fastball and changeup are 4 mph apart.

The Mets recently gave up any idea of using Perez in the rotation this season and have sent him to the end of the bench in the bullpen. Price tag: $13 million.

In 86 games last season, Luis Castillo committed 11 errors and batted .245. Price tag: $6 million.

And then there is Francisco Rodriguez, he of the dramatic mound gestures. While his on-the-field play has generally been good, it’s the other part of his life that the Mets wish they could make go away. Having no real reason for a high-priced reliever, the Mets would do well to trade K-Rod. Except they can’t.

Since being signed, K-Rod has had tussles with opposing players, his own coaches and, most well-known, his girlfriend’s father, whom he punched in the face.

Adding salt to the wound, Rodriguez injured a ligament in his thumb from the altercation and needed season-ending surgery. Rodriguez was ordered by the court to stay away from his girlfriend and he family; Rodriguez violated the court order, though he did escape further punishment.

The good news is that a ton of this payroll baggage comes off the roster next year. The bad news is that the Mets don’t have a ton of talent on the way. Keith Law recently put the Mets’ minor league organization at 26 out of 32. The Mets didn’t have one prospect ranked in the top 50.

Also, the Mets have been accused of rushing their recent young talent too quickly, with Baseball Prospectus writing: “The Minaya regime wasn’t particularly successful at any aspect of developing or handling prospects.”

Put it all together and what you get is a big, expensive gooey mess. The Mets will go nowhere this year; the season already having been written off. And with the Madoff scandal having struck the Wilpon family fairly hard, it is tough to see the Mets being big free agency players anytime soon. So, to recap:

1. Terrible free-agent signings.
2. No young talent coming up the pike.
3. Disgruntled and fading stars.
4. No free-agent help for the forseeable future.

The original Worst Team Money Could Buy was about the 1993 Mets who won 59 games. The 2011 squad might give those guys a run for their money.

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New York Mets star hurler Johan Santana is the anchor of the staff, a leader in the clubhouse and represents the largest annual salary on the payroll.

They depended on him to set the tone and at times carry the team on his back down the stretch. The organization already knew he would miss most, if not all, of the first half of the 2011 MLB season, but uncertainties have now transformed directly into widespread fears.

Reports out of Mets camp and NorthJersey.com’s Steve Popper and Blob Klapisch are now hinting that Santana could miss the entire 2011 season.

Any orthopedic surgeon will tell horror stories of shoulder operations in comparison to those taking place within the elbow. A pitcher is better off having two Tommy John procedures before one rotator cuff tear.

That said, initial word out of New York led us all to believe that this was a fairly status quo recovery—resulting in a fully healthy Johan returning for the stretch run. Santana himself seemed confident in the mapped out timetable.

Now it is possible that all of this will come crashing down before the first pitch of the season whistles across the plate at Citi Field.

Dating back to his trade to Queens following the 2007 season, I had very strong concerns regarding his mechanics and short-arm delivery. It seemed that there was virtually no way that he could hold up over the length of his contract.

Three years into the deal, Santana’s already missed an average of 15 percent of his starts each season. In addition, his K/9 dropped from 9.7 in Minnesota to 7.9, 7.9 and 6.5 against less powerful National League lineups.

His dominance has been slipping away for a few years now, all while his baseline ERA looked as solid as ever. Santana had such excellent command, however, that he could overcome his decreasing velocity and movement to consistently pitch well in the NL.

Now the question is will the Mets ace ever be the same? It seems like Santana had plenty of years left in the tank, but he will already be 33 years old before Opening Day 2012.

If Johan does in fact miss the entire 2011 campaign, will he begin the all too familiar fade into mediocrity that many injured pitchers have suffered in their lives beyond 30?

The Mets would have a very serious situation to face head on, as Santana is due $55M guaranteed over the next two years. Considering the financial unrest within the Wilpon family business, he could instantly become the most damaging contract in MLB.

It is hard to believe that the 2012 version of Santana would boast a 91-93 MPH fastball, or even the dynamic movement on the changeup that has made him a world-class pitcher in his career. He has already been forced to limit the use of his slider, and this shoulder setback would virtually eliminate it permanently.

Assuming the reports are true, in which Mets brass believe they’ll be “lucky” if Santana pitches this year, all signs would point to the Mets paying a No. 3 or No. 4 starter like an immortal and unhittable ace.

Their ability to trade Santana in the offseason—or even at next year’s deadline—seem nearly impossible, and the Mets will seemingly have to take one on the chin until 2013.

All area fans have to hope against hope that these reports are premature and incorrect, or they can all but kiss the next two to three years of Mets baseball goodbye.

There is no scenario in my mind that ends with Santana resorting back to his 2008 form, and they would actually be fortunate to get the 24-18 from 2009-2010 over the final two years of his deal.

As a Santana admirer, I would be very pleased to be proven wrong and have to eat my words, but my instincts tell me that we have seen the last of the Johan Santana we have grown to parallel so seamlessly with “consistency.”

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For as long as most of us can remember, the Dallas Cowboys have been America’s Team. 

A lot of that has to do with the teams locale, the dearth of professional teams that existed in America’s heartland when the ‘Boys broke onto the expansion scene in 1960.

Mostly though you’d have to say it’s been their great on field success—almost from the word go as they quickly came to challenge Vince Lombardi’s Packers for NFL preeminence in the reasonably early ’60’s—that has dictated to their becoming not only a storied franchise, but one of the two or three most highly valued in all of sports.

There are challengers to the throne no doubt. Incrementally teams will rise up each year and capture the fancy of the rooting public, the New Orleans Saints of 2009/2010 for example, and in a bigger picture, love/hate/you just can’t take your eyes off them sense, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers can at least make some claim to being the most acclaimed team in American sports.

But that’s not quite the same thing as being America’s Team. The team that best represents the country’s current state of being, and at this time we’d like to throw a new candidate into the ring.

The New York Mets.      

The team is owned by Fred Wilpon, who providentially bought a split share of the Queen’s nine in 1986, and then finished the deed in 2003 when he paid off partner Nelson Doubleday a balance sum of $135 million.

Good deal for Wilpon you would say. Let’s say he paid around $200 million in total for the Mets who are currently valued somewhere between $8-$900 million dollars. 

The problem there though is the Mets are currently in debt to the tune of $500 million plus.

Reports say they are leaking funds annually, maybe as much as $50 million—God knows how that can be, when virtually every other team in the game is turning a profit—and as everybody with access to any aspect of the media is aware, Fred Wilpon and company are up to their eyeballs in the Bernie Madoff scandal.

The latest byline being Wilpon profited from his dealings with the since jailed paper money maker, when countless others took it on the chin to the tune of 70 or 80 billion smackers combined.

Wilpon claims to be clean of course, that is in lieu of the billion dollar law suit against him helmed by attorney Irving Picard who represents the angrily fleeced. But with a Ponzi Scheme prior in 2008—which already cost him a $13 million settlement—you’ve got to figure “Fast Fred” could very well be going down on this one, at least to the tune of another couple of hundred million dollars.

That’s not good, and there’s no wonder MLB had to float the Mets $25 million a couple of months ago, and Wilpon now has his hand out for another $50 million in lieu of sorting through potential investors who are willing to invest an enormous sum for a 20-25 percent stake of this barely floating baseball ship. 

And these issues don’t even begin to address the Mets’ monumental on field concerns. With the games fifth largest payroll, $135 million, they finished the 2010 season 79-83, good for fourth in the tough National League East, and did little to improve the club in the offseason.

Heading into 2011 the team has about $12o million tied up in these eight players:

Johan Santana $22.5 million 
Carlos Beltran $18.5 million 
Jason Bay $16 million 
David Wright $14 million 
Oliver Perez $12 million 
Francisco Rodriguez $11.5 million 
Jose Reyes $11 million 
Luis Castillo $6 million 

There are some pretty frightening names and contracts there.

Figure you can count on Wright and Santana to perform at a high level, but by the same token you’re going to have to pray Oliver Perez and, to a lesser extent, Luis Castillo can make season long big league contributions.

You’ll be in the same position hoping Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can stay healthy, Jason Bay can give you ten million dollars worth out of the sixteen, and Francisco Rodriguez, Krazy-Rod, can just keep his head on straight long enough to complete the 162 season without complications arising due to domestic affairs and/or incarceration. 

And that’s only eight guys!

Is there any wonder why the Mets brought in “Moneyball Administrator” Sandy Alderson, previously adhered to the ever spartan Oakland Athletics, to take over the team and bring some measure of sanity to a situation run completely amok?

My goodness, we’re still thirty days or so from Opening Day and the New York Mets appear to be screwed sixteen ways from Sunday.

Financial status? Bleak.

Opportunity to remedy financial status? Slim to fat.

Field Product? Filled with question marks if not glaring holes. 

Prospects for 2011? Prayerful. 

Similarity to the status of too many Americans struggling to keep pace with diminished incomes if not outright joblessness and the higher cost of almost everything? Stark!

The New York Mets for all their myriad problems, tall tales, poor management and bleak prospects have become a media enhanced microcosm of too many things that plague our once great nation. 

American’s have lost confidence in our government, Met fans, baseball fans from around the country have come to view the Queen’s Kids as a shining example of almost everything wrong in our National Pastime.

Big spending, little to no return on the dollar. The team is rife with egoism, gluttony and most of all failure, and it would take an apparent miracle for a significant rebound in 2011.

Ring a bell?

In their not so storied past, the Mets have been known to conjure a miracle or two. “You Gotta Believe” is the teams very own catch phrase, and would it surprise you terribly to hear those same three words uttered by political mouthpieces hoping to gain your consumer confidence or just your plain vote as the country moves tenuously forward into continued uncharted waters?

It’s all so murky, but on the other hand so terribly clear. The New York Mets have almost always embraced the role of underdog, but now they are in the worst kind of financial mess to boot.

A lot like the rest of us, and one would have to hope if somehow the Mets can pull through and make a go of it in 2011, then maybe a great breath of others can too.

So here’s a vote for the New York Mets, with all their flaws if not glaring deficiencies becoming America’s Team.

Why?

Because we need a miracle too.

Thanks, A.M.,

DR

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With the recent trade talk involving the Yankees going after the Twins’ Francisco Liriano, who should the Yankees be going after instead?  

While I think the Yankees acquiring Francisco Liriano would be a great benefit to the starting rotation, it is bound to come at a high price (Jesus Montero and several of the young Yankees pitching prospects) for a pitcher who will be either the number two or number three pitcher. 

Even though Liriano is the best pitcher currently available in the trade market, there are others who are available that would cost less (in terms of money or prospects).

Why are the Yankees even bothering to get another pitcher? Don’t they have a bunch of young prospects and former Major Leaguers they signed this offseason? Yes, but the Yankees always want to win and in order to do that you need a solid pitching rotation, not one with a solid number one pitcher followed by four question marks.

If they can shore up just one more rotation spot before the season starts, they’ll feel better overall about their chances.

I came up with a list of seven players, some are targets the Yankees stand a better chance of acquiring, others are long shots that will have to wait till at least June to see if they’re even available and two are still free agents.  

Let’s start with the free agents available because they wouldn’t cost the Yankees any prospects and thus would cost the Yankees the least. 

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With spring training in full bloom, it’s never too early to start thinking ahead. For all the promise teams show at this stage of the game, there is always the possibility of finishing below expectations. When that happens, there will be plenty of teams trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Whether that’s taking care of their economic safety or trying to put the pieces in place to build for the future, changes will be made.

The biggest chip most teams have is their staff ace. There is no bigger commodity in baseball than a pitcher with experience, promise or a balanced combination of both. So when things go south for a team, or a glaring need arises elsewhere, a team might be forced to part with their most proven arm.

The good news is that wherever an ace is available, interested parties aren’t far away. So here’s a look at the 10 staff aces most likely to be traded this season. 

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As Adam Rubin reported via Twitter, New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson said that staff ace Johan Santana will throw on flat ground through April and then start throwing off a mound in May.

The goal is to have Santana return to the Mets in either June or July.

This news should come as no surprise as the Mets will take it easy with Santana. After all, Santana does have three more years remaining on his contract.

Here is what the Mets are looking at for a starting rotation until Santana returns:

1. Mike Pelfrey

2. R.A. Dickey

3. Jonathon Niese

4. Chris Young

5. Chris Capuano

I think it’s safe to say the Mets will be relying on their offense to wins games during the early stages of the 2011 season.

I would say, as presently constructed, only the Pittsburgh Pirates have a worse rotation than the Mets do right now in the National League.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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