It's Time To Play General Manager! New York Mets' Winter Checklist, 1-5

The Moves:  Acquire power arms for the bullpen by trading Nick Evans, Argenis Reyes, Heilman and Schoeneweis, and allow Eddie Kunz and Bobby Parnell to earn spots in spring training.  The main problem with the Mets' bullpen this season was that it was too specialized, meaning there were too many guys that only get a certain type of hitter out.  And even then, most of the time they didn't do the job.  What I need to do as G.M. is find hard-throwing guys who can get both righties and lefties out on a consistent basis.  Basically, I need to find three needles in a haystack, not just one.

Joe Smith had a very nice season, and Brian Stokes is a player I'm holding on to.  It's time to give Kunz and Parnell every opportunity to earn a spot in the pen in spring training, so I've got four relievers and Fuentes as my closer.

I'd look to package some of the four players listed above to acquire a left-hander, for the matchups against the left-handed hitters within the division, and look at options such as Huston Street, as well as anything that looks even remotely appealing. 

I know relying on two rookies is a risky move, but after watching overpaid relievers sabotage the 2008 season, I'm willing to let two low-priced younger players experience some growing pains, provided I've surrounded them with solid bullpen pieces.  For a long man, I'll see who wins the spring training battle between Nelson Figueroa and Brandon Knight. 

Priority Number 5:  Acquire a veteran starter to replace Pedro Martinez, and possibly Oliver Perez as well.  Pedro, thank you for making the Mets relevant again.  But we simply cannot resign you.  If Oliver Perez wants anything more than eight million dollars a year (which Mr. Boras will laugh at), I'm letting him walk.  He is just too inconsistent to invest that much money in, especially when I can find more consistent alternatives.

So I'm looking for two starters.  I'm not touching Ben Sheets or A.J. Burnett with a ten-foot pole.  Way too many headaches for a long-term deal.

What I'm looking for is solid, durable starters who will fill out a rotation that consists of Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey and John Maine. 

The Moves:  Sign either Derek Lowe, Jon Garland or Ryan Dempster and let Jon Niese go through growing pains as the number five, or sign one of them and go for a cheaper second option like Randy Wolf as your number five, and let Niese develop further in the minors.  There's two schools of thought here.  You can either let a youngster develop and take his lumps at the major league level (the way the Mets did with Pelfrey), or you can sign a veteran guy to be your number five. 

Since I'm running this show, I want to develop Niese.  He's at the bottom of the rotation, a good spot for him to develop.  So that leaves out Wolf. 

As for the three veteran starters, I'm going to assume Dempster resigns with Chicago, though I'll certainly make the call to see if he's interested.  Garland would then be my second option to Derek Lowe. 

All this guy does is start every time he's supposed to, post solid numbers, and win playoff games.  He's a big-game pitcher, and he's the perfect addition to my staff.  A three-year deal should get it done, and as a sinkerballer he can sill be effective in that third year. 

So there you have it, my top five priorities for the winter as Mets G.M.  Be sure to check in tomorrow for the second half of the series, as we tackle second base, the bench and who stays from the current position players.

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