The Mets are extremely interested in Matt Holliday, it’s their clear-cut #1 target this off-season. They are willing to pursue him very aggressively, and will go to 6 years for him. Not sure as of yet what their financial limitations are specifically. The Cardinals are deemed to be the toughest foe for the Mets on the Holliday front, and are willing reportedly to surpass $100 million dollars on a contract for Holliday. The Mets back-up plan in free agency for left field is Jason Bay, but it seems like a virtual lock he goes back to the Red Sox. They also are considering a trade for Tampa’s Carl Crawford who may be available this off-season. It’s known the Rays are big fans of Mets shortstop prospect Wilmer Flores.

The Mets and the Cubs are reportedly working very hard to find a third team to facilitate a trade of Luis Castillo to the Cubs. Most likely scenario has a third team getting the malcontent that is Milton Bradley. The most obvious landing spots are Tampa Bay and Texas as they’ve shown interest in Bradley. The question is what can these teams provide that fits the Mets needs? If possible the Mets are trying to get Castillo out without paying any of his salary or taking back another bad contract. The Cubs are reportedly willing to take all $12 million owed to Castillo, but the problem is going to be finding someone that will essentially be willing to trade low priced talent for Milton Bradley and the $21 million still owed to him. A possible player that could be involved is 26-year-old right hander Brandon McCarthy from the Rangers. The Cubs may also be willing to throw recently named Super-Two player Mike Fontenot the Mets way, who can realistically take over the “Alex Cora role” if the Mets so choose. The Mets will also discuss individual trades with the Cubs, Dodgers and reportedly one other American League club has interest in Castillo. Bet I couldn’t have convinced you a year ago that the Mets would be able to trade Castillo next year and possibly not eat any money.

So what do the Mets do with second base if they trade Castillo? Well obviously their top second base prospect Reese Havens would not be under consideration as he hasn’t played above High-A ball yet. Ruben Tejada still hasn’t turned 20 years old, though he looked mighty impressive in the second half for Binghamton, but the Mets aren’t even considering him starting in MLB. His likely spot is with Triple-A Buffalo, though an outside shot they have him repeat Binghamton. So the second baseman would have to come from outside of the organization. Unless the Mets whiff on Holliday and Bay and resort to a cheaper option in left field, odds are Chone Figgins will not be the second baseman for the Mets considering his $10 million a year price tag. If you hypothetically give Holliday $17-$18 million a year, you are giving $27-28 million for Holliday and Figgins. Which in theory is nice for the offense, but you also have not gotten your platoon mate for Daniel Murphy at first and catcher, starting pitcher, and you have not gotten anybody for the bullpen or bench. It’s unrealistic to expect to Mets to spend upwards of $50 million on next year’s payroll. The Mets have too many holes to be overspending on a second base unless, of course, you completely whiff on a big time left fielder and go cheaper at the spot. The most likely scenario appears to be signing the long-coveted Orlando Hudson. Odds are Hudson would run you a 1 year deal, possibly with a 2^nd year option for at max Luis Castillo money ($6 million). The Mets have long loved Hudson for his phenomenal clubhouse presence (also a role in their pursuit of Holliday) as well as his great glove. Hudson won the Gold Glove this year for the NL at the second base position. If Castillo were to be dealt, my money would be on Hudson replacing him, but I was told that Figgins is a big Omar and Jerry type of guy, so do not rule him out.

The platoon-mate for Murphy at 1^st is looking a bit like it will come from a non-tender or a cheap trade. Though the team has not ruled out a return for Carlos Delgado, as proven last year with Pedro Martinez in the WBC, playing in winter ball is not going to change the Mets mind with their opinion of his health. Omar loves Delgado, but he loves his job a bit more. Guys like the Marlins’ Jorge Cantu, the Rockies’ Garrett Atkins and the Giants’ Ryan Garko all are potential fits. I do not believe this is a position the Mets will rush to fill because the list of non-tenders has a chance to be record-setting this off-season. There could be a ton of names for this spot come that time.

At the catcher spot the Mets are considering a couple in trade: Arizona’s Chris Snyder and Detroit’s Gerald Laird, as well as three free-agents Bengie Molina, Yorvit Torrealba (how realistic can that be?), and Rod Barajas. The only way the Mets would be getting Snyder would be if the team’s decided to swap Castillo for him. The Tigers who are starting a bit of a “fire-sale” of some players that make solid money put Laird on the block, and the Mets have liked Laird for a couple years, so it’s expected they at least look into him. On the free agent front, you’d have to think Torrealba wouldn’t happen since the bridges have to be burned there. Barajas is a bit more of a last resort than anything else, he’s not really of prominence in the Mets plans. Molina is clearly on the top of the Mets wish list for this position. Though aging, he is still a capable defender and provides a very strong bat for the position and could be placed in maybe the six spot in the order. He hit 20 home runs last year for the Giants in a park that is just as unfavorable to hitters as Citi Field, if not worse. Molina is seeking a two year deal, and it appears the Mets are willing to offer it to him. The only complication is the Giants are expected to offer Molina arbitration. Molina who is a Type A would cost the Mets their second round pick if they signed no other Type A’s, so some in the organization are iffy on losing a pick for Molina when they need to be rebuilding the farm too. The wide consensus in the organization however is that Molina will likely be the route the Mets turn. To me this seems like one of the more likely moves for the Mets this off-season.

On the pitching front, the Mets will not be pursuing free agent John Lackey. All sources I have spoken to are pretty unanimous on that, though Jeff Wilpon does personally like Lackey. They will investigate the trade market for Jays ace Roy Halladay, but are reportedly unwilling to trade prospects Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, and Ike Davis, which limits their possibilities there. They are however willing to deal 2008 1^st rounder (supplemental) Brad Holt who reportedly is a little in the doghouse with the organization for turning down the invitation to go to the Mets Instructional League. Though this is considered to be voluntary, it’s one of those things where it really isn’t. It’s pretty much they ask, you go.

The Mets will also consider Randy Wolf, though his price-tag as of now sits at around $10 million a year for 3 years. The team feels they made a big mistake not signing him last year and may try to make up for the blunder this off-season. The team is not that interested in other free agents such as Jason Marquis, Jon Garland, Rich Harden etc. Though Harden has the potential to be that #2 that the team needs, the injury risk that exists in his arm appears to be too great for the organization. They will however consider trades for pitchers such as Kansas City’s Gil Meche, Detroit’s Edwin Jackson, Halladay, possibly one of the Reds’ available arms- Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang. It is also possible that the Cubs shop Carlos Zambrano and the Mets would be in on that as well. There are going to be a lot of pitcher’s available to the team, so it’s very hard to pinpoint exactly what direction they are going to go in player-wise. But they are considering all options when it comes to the rotation, but I do expect this void to be filled via trade.

Tags: Bengie Molina, Chone Figgins, Edwin Jackson, Gerald Laird, Matt Holliday, New York Mets, Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf, Roy Halladay, Ryan Garko