Tigers - Mets make good partners

When I heard that the Mets were putting relievers on the block one of the first teams I thought of was the Tigers. The only concern or hole the Tigers have is in the bullpen, the Mets on the other hand have suddenly found themselves deep in solid relievers. The Mets could move a reliever or two and have several candidates to replace them with.

After Ruben Gotay and Carlos Delgado went down, I immediately thought of Brandon Inge. Since the Cabrera trade Inge has been on the block, he came up as a catcher, then moved to third base and has played the outfield. Inge is a 30 y/o who bats righty and hit .333 against lefties even while having an off year at the plate. If the former catcher can learn third I could see him becoming a project first baseman and all-a-round utility player.

Metsblog reports that the teams have talked but the Mets interest is in Marcus Thames. With all three starting outfielders down with injuries I could see the team being more concerned with outfield depth and while Church should be ready to start the season they will have no idea whether he can hit lefties. Thames is a 30 y/o right handed corner outfielder with 33 gms at first base, he is a lifetime BA of .241 but hit .310 against lefties. He has a lifetime SLg. of .492, in '06' hit 26 HRs, 20 doubles and 6o RBIs with a .529 slg.

Speaking of backups, during his weekly appearance on WFAN yesterday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said the Mets and Tigers are discussing a trade that would send Marcus Thames to the Mets for Jorge Sosa. source Metsblog