Have the Mets changed directions? , Going after Putz instead of K-Rod?

The Rockie Mountain News is reporting that the Mets are targeting J.J. Putz as their priority, instead of signing K-Rod or Fuentes. The reason is he will come a lot cheaper than both Fuentes and Rodriguez. Putz is expected to make $ 5 Million in '09 and $ 8.5 Million in '10. He also has a $ 1 Million dollar buyout.

The Mets would love this because 1) he is affordable and the Mets are still paying Billy Wagner $10.5 Million. 2) He does not have a long term contract, which the Mets do not want.

The negative is, he will be 32 years old at the start of the 2009 season. If the Mets do make a trade for Putz, it could open up the bank for other moves including building up the offense or maybe getting a higher grade pitcher.

Here is a look at J.J. Putz's last 3 years:

Last 3 years Team G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA
2006 SEA 72 0 4 1 36 0 0 78.1 59 20 20 4 13 104 2.30 0.92 .207
2007 SEA 68 0 6 1 40 0 0 71.2 37 11 11 6 13 82 1.38 0.70 .153
2008 SEA 47 0 6 5 15 0 0 46.1 46 20 20 4 28 56 3.88 1.60 .256
Career
308 0 22 15 101 0 0 323.0 270 115 110 32 104 337 3.07 1.16 .227

The first time I heard of them targeting Putz was in Jason Stark's column yesterday, where he was told by a baseball source that if J.J. Putz becomes available he will be on the top priority over the free agent group...


I found some video of J.J. Putz on YouTube, Enjoy....