After Carlos Beltran came back from knee surgery, the Mets had a tough choice to make. Who would be the starting right fielder. Jeff Francoeur, or Angel Pagan. The question has been answered, and because of that answer, that could ultimately make Jeff Francoeur trade bait.

According to MetsBlog.com’s Matthew Cerrone, the Mets are currently looking to trade Jeff Francoeur. Mike Puma of the New York Daily News reports that a deal for Francoeur appears a possibility.

Jeff Francoeur has been one of Omar Minaya’s best trades ever in my opinion. Ever since Jeff Francoeur has come to New York, he has helped this team offensively and defensively, by saving runs, and hitting in the clutch (for the most part). If Jeff Francoeur were traded, however acquires him will have a quality outfielder who can hit for power, and drive in runs.

The Mets, before tonights game against the Diamondbacks, announced that they optioned Ruben Tejada back down to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Luis Castillo on the roster. Ruben Tejada has been good for the Mets offensively and defensively and hopefully he becomes a better player when he returns to Citi Field.

In other news, the Mets said today that Oliver Perez is traveling to Arizona to be evalutated by Mets staff. If everythings good, Oliver Perez will be activiated and on the roster tommorrow, which seems unlikely. If his evaluation fails to impress, chances are that Oliver Perez be shipped back down for more rehab. I believe this offseason, the Mets will find some way to get rid of him. No doubt about it.

Don’t get too excited readers, but it appears as though the Mets have plans in mind to trade Oliver Perez. According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, the Mets have tried to trade Oliver Perez to the Royals for Gil Meche.  Adam Rubin says that the Mets have been trying to trade Perez, and that there are no takers.

Update July 19th: According to MetsBlog.com’s Matthew Cerrone, WFAN radio host Mike Francesca said that he’s spoken to a source within the Mets organization saying that the Mets will make a “proper trade” and that the Mets organization has “no financial restrictions”.

As the trade deadline fast approaches, the Mets are in the market for starting pitchers right? Well, it appears they may not be afterall. According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets are now less likely to acquire a starting pitcher.  Martino says that because of the Cliff Lee trade, and the “emergence” of R.A. Dickey, the Mets are less into the market for a starter.  The Mets are interested in Brett Myers, Roy Oswalt, Jake Westbrook, and Ted Lilly.

With the Mets not hitting (getting shut out) over the past couple of days, it seems to me that the Mets need to go after a hitter, like Adam Dunn, or maybe even Prince Fielder.  I know Prince Fielder would be out of the question but Adam Dunn could be a good fit for the Mets.  Dunn has hit in clutch situations before, like when Dunn hit a double that ultimately won the game for the Nats against the Mets earlier this month.

The Mets have not hit in the clutch all season long, even with Jason Bay.  For Adam Dunn, his contract is up after this season, and the Mets could use another bat in the outfield.  It seems that the Mets are not into hitters in the market but if the Mets continue to luck out in clutch situations, then something tells me that the front office will go after another bat for the lineup.  If the Mets continue to struggle and are out of the race come the end of July, then a trade at the deadline may appear immiment.

According to MetsBlog.com’s Matthew Cerrone, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez (yes that Oliver Perez) will return to the Mets during the D’Backs series starting today.

Apparently, Oliver Perez continues to refuse a stint in the minor leagues to “work his stuff out”, and will join the Mets.  After the season, i wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets decide to make it their mission to get rid of Oliver Perez whether its a trade or even something on his contract, because with the buzz that the Mets can’t add payroll, the Mets could use that to their advantage.

Seriously folks. If I were to have told you in April that the Mets would be eight games over .500 (48-40), four game out of first in the NL East and a mere game out of the Wild Card lead at he All-Star break, you’d have signed up that in a heartbeat. With all the negativity lingering from last year’s calamity, the uncertainty in the starting rotation and Carlos Beltran’s knee surgery, the Mets seemed destined for more disaster in 2010. But a few season-altering events happened along the way: 

(Source: Yardbarker.com)

•  Ike Davis arrived: After getting off to a 4-8 start, it appeared as if we were witnessing Jerry Manuel’s final days as Mets manager. Then the team inexplicably went on a 10-1 run to end April, including an astounding 9-1 homestand during which they swept the Atlanta Braves and the L.A. Dodgers. I wrote inexplicably in the last sentence, but I probably shouldn’t have because I am convinced the infusion of Ike Davis into the lineup and into the clubhouse was the primary reason for the turnaround. As has been detailed in this space before, Ike brought some excitement to the fanbase, some much-needed power to the middle of the Mets order and steady glove at first base.  The kid is here to stay for years to come, which is good news to anyone who bleeds blue and orange for this team.
• Angel Pagan began to blossom: There were many frowns in Metville when it was revealed in January that Beltran had surgery on his balky right knee and would not be ready for opening day (or as it turns out the entire first half of the season). Gary Matthews, Jr. to the rescue! Errr, maybe not. After Manuel installed Matthews as the opening day CF instead of Pagan, many of us in the media shook our heads in disbelief. It didn’t take long for Manuel to see the error of his ways by mid-April Pagan was soon manning CF for the Mets on an everyday basis, and doing it splendidly. Heading into the break, Pagan is batting a robust .315, good for fifthin the NL. His 19 steals tie him with fellow lineup mate Jose Reyes. To top it off Pagan has played a flawless CF filling in for Beltran. In fact, Pagan has been so good, Manuel has already decreed that Angel will supplant Jeff Francoeur in RF when Beltran returns to the lineup on Thursday in San Francisco. Not really a tough decision considering it would be lunacy to remove the team’s first-half MVP from the lineup.


(Source: Yardbarker.com)

• Mike Pelfrey turned into a top of the rotation starter: There have been a few bumps in the road as of late, but clearly Pelfrey has quieted many of his critics (me included) with his performance thus far in 2010. Before this recent rough patch over the past five starts or so, Pelfrey(10-4, 3.58 ERA) was stood at 9-1, with and ERA in the 2’s. It wasn’t just the stat lines that Big Pelf was putting up that were impressive, it was the way he was doing it. He battled through adversity and continually escaped jams. The Pelfrey of the past few years did not have the mental fortitude to have some of the success he’s enjoyed through the first 3 1/2 months of the season and the Mets are in a whole lot better position for it. As Jon Niese continues to sparkle and Johan Santana begins to find his form as the ace of the staff, the trio at the top of the Mets rotation seems primed for a run at the postseason.
• R.A Dickey fluttered down from Knuckle Ball Heaven: The argument can be made that Robert Allen Dickey, yes R.A. “freaking” Dickey saved the Mets season. Since entering the starting rotation on May 19th following John Maine’s expulsion from the quintet, Dickey has been nothing short of spectacular. His 6-2 record and stunning 2.77 ERA in 10 starts really don’t even tell the whole story. At a point when the Mets entire season could have gone down the tubes because of the disarray in their pitching staff  Maine and Ollie Perez cause, the 35-year old knuckleballerarrived from Triple-A and stabilized the rotation (with an assist going to Hisanori Takahashi as well). The best part is it that is doesn’t appear as if the bloom is set to fall off R.A.’s rose anytime soon. His knuckleball is evolving each time he takes the hill and hitters (and the Mets catchers for that matter) still look baffled. I know the Amazin’s are seeking to add another arm to their rotation (Ted Lilly, Brett Myers, Fausto Carmona) but you gotta believe Dickey is here to stay in 2010. Knowing that Dickey is a devoutly religious fellow, it would be proper to say that he has been Godsend for the Mets.


(Source: Yardbarker.com)

• Jose Reyes is back to being Jose Reyes:  Though I might need to revise this statement basedon how Reyes’ oblique injury progresses in the coming days (he was scrathced from tonight’s lineup in San Francisco), it is clear that Jose provided the major offensive spark during the Mets recent  extended period of success. As discussed previously on this blog, Reyes missed almost a year before returning the Mets lineup in April, and frankly, the ramificationsof that layoff  were evident early on. He was clearly out of sync both at the plate and most importantly, he looked timid on the basepaths, which for Reyes is like sending a soldier to battlefield without his gun loaded. Jose’s game is centered around his indomitable wheels, and once he got them churning again, the rest of his game (and the Mets) took off. After Reyes’s average dropped to .211 following a 2-1 loss to the Yankees on May 21, he caught fire in a big way. By June 25th, a little more than a month later, Reyes had raised his average to a season-high .288. During that 30-game period Jose compiled a whopping 18 multi-hit games and swiped 10 bases, Not coincidentally, the Mets went 21-9 in that stretch and vaulted themselves back into contention in the NL East. I know I sound like a broken record, but I’ll say it again: As goes Jose Reyes, so go the Mets.
• David Wright decided to be awesome again: After a disastrous 2009, David Wright has returned to being the Golden Boy of the Mets franchise. It wasn’t all roses for David early in the season as he got off to a slow start, batting just .273 in April with 4 HR and 16 RBI. May wasn’t a whole lot better for Wright as his average dipped to .258 by month’s end and his power numbers remained somewhat mute (4HR, 18 RBI). More concerning was his whopping strikeout total of 65, not a good sign for a guy who is supposed to be one of the best two-strike hitters in the game. In fact, Wright heard some boo birds from the Citi Field faithful and you just had to wonder whether this was going to be a repeat of last year. Not so. As the team took off in June toward the top of the NL East, so did the Mets all-star 3B, in a very big way. By July 1, Wright had raised his batting average 53 points to .311. His most impressive stat from June was the 29 RBIs he collected. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Wright was the first player in Mets history to hit over .400 with25 or more runs batted in in a calendar month. That is how good his June performance was. Fresh off a starting gig for the victorious NL All Star team (where he went 2-2 with a SB), Wright has once again regained elite status in baseball circles and seems primed for an MVP caliber run, or one can only hope.


(Source: Yardbarker.com)

So it all starts again in a few hours in San Fran, where the Mets embark on what may be a season-defining 11-game road trip. A playoff run for this team is not out of the question in the very wide open National League. Regardless of the final outcome of this second half, the future looks much brighter for the Amazins’ than it did last July, that is for damn sure.