Mets Retain Alex Cora, Add Chris Coste

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Mets have finally made an impact on the free agent market. The splash we have all been waiting for has happened.

Yes, I am kidding.

The Mets have added free agent catcher Chris Coste to the mix, and they have retained the services of Alex Cora for another season.

Earth-shattering? No. But these are two moves I definitely support.

I have been stressing depth since the offseason began, and that is a reason why Coste was signed. Believe me, the Mets are not going to stop pursuing other catchers because the guy who used to be known as the “33-year-old rookie” was brought in. He was just brought in to either be the third guy or get stored at Triple-A. My bet is on the latter.

Cora was asked to step into way too big a role last year, and he acted like a professional while doing so. He might have been the guy I felt the worst for with all of last season’s misfortunes. He went from all of those seasons of winning with Boston to last year’s nightmare.

If all goes as planned and Jose Reyes is healthy, Cora will serve as the utility guy. Let’s cross our fingers.

Expect a lot of moves like this. A lot of guys should be brought in and given a shot. You never know who next year’s Fernando Tatis is going to be. Of course, when I say that, I mean the Tatis of 2008.

Things should start picking up after the arbitration deadline passes tomorrow.