Santana's pitch count to heighten for next outing

Boris Mizrahi of MLB.com tweeted earlier today that Johan Santana's pitch count will be moved up to 80 pitches in his next outing.

In his outing Friday, Johan threw 66 pitches and 44 of them for strikes. Boris stated that even though he got the loss, looked pretty good and had more velocity and better location.

He allowed two homers and they were both hit against change ups that didn't break at all.

Beimel to Mets has "fallen apart"

We desperately need to get a second lefty in the 'pen. Omar better work out something soon, because the season is fastly approaching.

Mets, Marlins to play in Puerto Rico

A three-game series between the New York Mets and Florida Marlins will be played at San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium from June 28-30 instead of in Miami.

Adios Anderson

The Indians have claimed Mets SS/2B Anderson Hernandez off waivers. The Mets reacquired Hernandez last season from the Nationals.

Adios buddy.

The Mets are looking for short term SS help

According to Rich Coutinho of 1050 ESPN Radio, the Mets maybe looking for some short term help at shortstop while Jose Reyes recovers from his thyroid problems.

It is unknown how long Reyes will be out but it's believed to be for the first 2 weeks of the season to up to a month.

Coutinho says Christian Guzman's name has been discussed.

Slow news day

It's a slow news day here in Mets World. Today is the team's only day off this spring. Here's some links to chew on:

Mets have 3rd best core
Ponson signs with LI Ducks
Smoltz unofficially retiring?

And, if you didn't watch last night's 24, go do that. It was excellent. I'm off to watch last night's Chuck and tonight's American Idol. Catch you tomorrow.

K-Rod looks solid in spring debut

Francisco Rodriguez made his much anticipated spring training debut Monday, throwing only 7 pitches but recording 3 outs.

K-Rod, who'd been sidelined for the past 2 weeks with conjunctivitis, wore prescription sunglasses. He used to wear them when he pitched for the Angels. He's still unable to wear contact lenses.

His final line on the day was 1 IP, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB. He struck out the last batter he faced.

"My location was perfect," he said. "I had good command on my breaking pitches. I felt good out there. If I could do that the rest of the year, that would be nice. I was aggressive today, and that's my goal, to go out and attack the strike zone and put them away as quick as I can."

Could Mets have interest in Sonnanstine?

Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com writes about how the Rays have a pitching surplus, and that pitcher Andy Sonnanstine could be on the outs. Morosi wonders if Sonnanstine could interest a few teams, including the Mets:

"Among the teams that could use another starter: the Diamondbacks, Mariners, Mets, Twins, Dodgers and Nationals."

However, Sonnanstine does have minor-league options left, so the Rays could just decide to send him to the minors.

Sonnanstine is young and does have potential, but his mark of 6-9 and an ERA of 6.77 scares me away. Plus, if I were the Rays, I would keep him. As we saw last year with the Red Sox, a pitching surplus doesn't last for the whole season.

New Projected Opening Day lineup

Things have changed since I last made my projected Mets 2010 lineup a few weeks ago. Here's what I've got down...as of now:

1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Jason Bay LF
5. Daniel Murphy 1B
6. Jeff Francoeur RF
7. Rod Barajas C
8. Alex Cora SS
9. Pitcher

Here's the lineup the Mets should be sporting in May:

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Jason Bay LF
5. Carlos Beltran CF
6. Daniel Murphy 1B
7. Jeff Francoeur RF
8. Rod Barajas C
9. Pitchcer

Rays shed light on Escobar

Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a very interesting tid-bit on Kelvim Escobar:

"The Rays actually were the second-biggest bidder for Kelvim Escobar, offering $600,000, a person familiar with the negotiations told me. But the Mets just blew the offer away, guaranteeing Escobar more than double that amount ($1.25 million) with an automatic $125,000 bonus if he were on the Opening Day roster.

The Rays told Escobar’s representatives that they thought his physical condition (shoulder problems had limited the righty to five innings over the past two seasons) precluded him from pitching in the majors until June at the earliest. They painted a schedule in which Escobar would work on strengthening until mid-May before he was even allowed to throw in any serious way. Tampa’s hope was to rehab Escobar back to be a contributor in the second half."

Click here to read the full article.

As more and more of these types of stories come out, I question the Mets medical staff more and more. The Tampa Bay Rays thought that Escobar wouldn't be ready until about June. It's not like they made this up. What did the Mets see that told them otherwise? They've invested over $1 million in a guy that has proven nothing over the last two years. It just baffles me.

F-Mart to start in minors

Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said today on SNY that Mets prospect Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minor leagues. He could however join the major league team at some point this season, should he prove that he's healthy enough.

I agree with this descision. F-Mart needs a wee bit more seasoning down at Triple-A, plus he needs to prove he's healthy.

Holt gets nailed

Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News has this video of Mets prospect Brad Holt getting nailed in the leg by a line drive from batter Lucas Duda. Holt was removed from the game, but is believed to be ok.

Ow. That'll leave a mark.

Players sent to minor league camp

Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News reports that the following players have been sent to minor-league camp:

Josh Thole, Shawn Bowman, Eric Niesen, Jack Egbert, Josh Fogg, R.A. Dickey, Travis Blackley, Bobby Livingston, Arturo Lopez, Eddie Kunz, Andy Green, Mike Hessman, Mike Cervenak, Jesus Feliciano, Luis Hernandez, Clint Everts, Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

Rubin also reports that Fogg, a pitcher, may ask for his release or retire due to a muscle injury.

The only "big" name on this list is Thole, who is obviously the catcher of the future. However, he definitely needs more seasoning at Triple-A. If things with Barajas or Blanco go south during the season, I would expect to see Thole up--if he's ready.

Tejada could make team

The New York Post reports that while Jose Reyes remains out as he waits for his thyroid level to return to normal, 20-year-old prospect Ruben Tejada is getting a lot of time, as is veteran Alex Cora. If Tejada proves he can hit the ball some, he might start this season on the major league roster.

Tejada is considered one of the top defensive infielders in the organization, and he has the Mets' brass raving about his play.

"He tries to play the game the right way," Kevin Morgan, the Mets' coordinator of instruction and infield for the minor leagues told the Post. "He's an intelligent kid. He understands the game and he's able to pick up situations."

Tejada hasn't been consistent enough of on the offensive side, which might give way for Cora to win the position. You'd have to believe that if Reyes is out of action early on in the season, that Tejada would get a taste of the big leagues for a few weeks in back of Cora. It's unlikely that the Mets will keep Tejada in the majors to sit behind Reyes, since hanging out in the dugout won't help his development.

I definitely stress defense personally but with Reyes out the Mets are going to need all the offense they can get. If Tejada still isn't hitting in a few weeks then he shouldn't make the major league roster breaking out of camp. Give him more time to develop and get some more seasoning down in the minors. He's only 20, no need to hurry these guys up. Seems like that usually does more harm, than good (see F-Mart).