Omar Minaya's Potential Steal

This offseason has certainly proved to be a busy one for Mets GM, Omar Minaya.

Following the 2008 season, Minaya was faced with multiple tasks. The first was rebuilding the troubled bullpen from the ground up. He did so by acquiring both J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez.

Next, he was faced with the task of filling two spots in the starting rotation, which became open after both Oliver Perez and Pedro Martinez filed for free agency.

Omar once again was able to patch up the rotation nicely by re-signing Oliver Perez and signing a bevy of pitchers, such as Freddy Garcia and Tim Redding to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.

There was one acquisition that did not receive a great deal of publicity, yet it could be one that provides a great deal of stability when it comes to middle relief.

The acquisition I am alluding to is the selection Omar Minaya made in the 2008 Rule 5 draft, in which he took Angels relief pitcher, Darren O’Day.

Granted O’Day did not put up impressive numbers in his rookie season with the Angels. In 43.1 innings pitched, O’Day compiled a 0-1 record and a 4.57 ERA.

However, rewind back prior to the 2008 season. In the early portion of Spring Training, O’Day was viewed as a top prospect within the organization.

The former Florida Gators stand out, has a deceptive side arm delivery, which the Mets could use following the loss of Joe Smith.

They’re are a couple of complications to the drafting of O’Day. The first is that he is coming off of an injury to his arm. The pitcher tore his labrum during the latter part of the season last year and declined to have surgery.

Instead, he opted for physical therapy in order to achieve a quicker recovery time.

The other complication is that O’Day must remain on the Mets' 25-man roster throughout the entire season or else they must offer him back to the Angels.

Chances are O’Day will end up riding the Steven Register express, and return to his former ball club. However, if everything falls into place Omar Minaya may have found himself a talented reliever for practically nothing.