New York Mets: Get Orlando Hudson!

Not sure how you felt, but it was a rather ho-hum moment for me when I heard Oliver Perez finally signed with the Mets this afternoon.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Ollie, and he’s pitched well in some big moments but he’s still a No. 3, No. 4 starter with an ERA over 4.00. Not to mention, he’s mind-numbingly inconsistent and falls way too in love with the free pass.

So while this move solidifies the rotation, Omar still needs to do something with the offense. Otherwise, we might be sitting in the exact same spot we were last September…and the one before that.

Yes, we got K Rod (thank you!) and J.J. Putz (sa-weet!), but now more than ever, Omar needs to take advantage of this current buyer’s market. And with one stroke of the pen he can erase the worst mistake of his career–inking Luis Castillo to that obscene contract–and sign Orlando Hudson (can you imagine if Castillo was a free agent this year? He’d probably only get a minor league contract).

Hudson would fit perfectly in the No. 2 spot behind Reyes. He hits .300, has a little pop, and plays a gold glove second base. Plus, he’s a gamer, and is a good guy in the clubhouse. Oh, and he’s already said he’d like to play for the Mets.

I know everyone’s been talking about Manny Ramirez and I’d love to have Manny here as much as anyone. He’d all but assure us getting to the playoffs and what Mets fan wouldn’t want that?

But the truth is, he’s just way to expensive and signing him would put the Mets over the luxury tax threshold. Meaning, the Mets would have to pay a lot more dough than the $25M-$30M it would take to sign him. So I can accept the fact that they’re not getting into the Manny sweepstakes.

I mean, let’s face it, the Mets already have the third highest payroll in baseball. So it’s not like they’re being cheap. They’re just not going to spend like the Yankees. For better or worse, I’m ok with that.

But, on the other hand, there is absolutely no excuse not to go after Hudson. He would come relatively cheap now; maybe $7M per for three years. Everyone would agree he is exactly what the Mets need.

This is not the opportunity they should elect to pass up. Yes, the economy is down, real estate is bah-rutal, and consumer spending will be tight. But it’s not the like the Mets are going to lose money this year (in spite of Madoff and Citigroup).
Hardly.

And so to the Wilpons and Minaya, the perfect addition is sitting right there in front of you. Go get him! Failure to do so and Omar will have made two terrible mistakes on one awful contract.