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The last time Edgardo Alfonzo was with the Mets organization was in 2006. That year he struggled in the minor leagues.

When it was clear he wasn’t going to have a chance to make it to Flushing, he departed for a brief stint with the Angels and then with the Blue Jays.

He lasted no more than 18 games with either team, and his combined OPS+ was minus-seven.

That was 2006. Now Alfonzo is telling El Diario/La Prensa that he is looking to return to the Major Leagues, specifically with the Mets.

The article is in Spanish, which I can only half read. He does clearly say that he wants to return to the majors and would especially like to return to the Mets, but it is impossible to tell if he’s being serious here.

Since he was last in the majors, he has played two seasons with the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League. His first season there he OPS’d .714, and his second year that number climbed to .884. He then left to play in Mexico, where he put up a .733 OPS. Last season he played for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and struggled in just 41 at-bats.

None of that should lead anyone to believe that Alfonzo could compete in the majors offensively. On the defensive side of things, it is hard to imagine Alfonzo, at age 36, being able to outperform much younger and more athletic players.

I’m going to follow Alfonzo on his comeback trail, but only because he was one of my favorite players for a given time, not because I think he has any serious chance at a return to the majors.

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Not all of these pitchers are officially being shopped by their respective teams. In fact, it isn’t likely that all or even most of these pitchers will be traded.

The Mets went into the offseason looking for a starting pitcher to add to their rotation, but after they whiffed at signing John Lackey and Joel Pineiro , they played it off like it was because they were comfortable with the five guys they had.

Now two months into the season, only two of the Mets five original starters, Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey , are still in the rotation. Hisanori Takahashi seems like a viable option as a replacement, but R.A. Dickey and Raul Valdes are clearly not long term solutions.

So here is a list of the top six starting pitchers available on the free agent market:

LHP Cliff Lee (2-2, 3.44), Mariners
2010 Salary : $9 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: Type-A free agent
Age as of June 1, 2010: 31

The Mariners traded for Lee expecting that they would be able to become the force in the AL West. The problem is that so far that hasn’t happened.

My guess is that because of Lee’s Type-A status, they won’t feel pressured to deal the lefty especially if they are even close to competing for a playoff spot. Being the best pitcher on this list with a reasonable price tag would make him highly sought after.

RHP Roy Oswalt (2-6, 2.66), Astros
2010 Salary: $15 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: $16 million in 2011, $16 million club option in 2012 ($2 million buyout)
Age as of June 1, 2010: 32

Oswalt has requested a trade out of Houston, but because of his no-trade clause, he has laid out the stipulation that it must be to a contender.

This could eliminate the Mets. They would have to convince Oswalt that they are serious about winning.

His high salary should lessen the package needed to land him unless the Astros eat some salary.

LHP Wandy Rodriguez (2-6, 4.33), Astros
2010 Salary: $5 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: arbitration eligible in 2011
Age as of June 1, 2010: 31

Rodriguez is not yet on the trading block exactly, but if the Astros decide to go the rebuilding route, Wandy could be a very attractive chip. His reasonable salary and the fact that he is a couple of years away from free agency makes him an expensive piece.

RHP Fausto Carmona (4-2, 3.45), Indians
2010 Salary: $4.9 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: $6.1 million in 2011, $7 million club option in 2012, $9 million club option
Age as of June 1, 2010: 26

Carmona has rebounded nicely this season and could even nab a Comeback Player of the Year award.

Teams are going to start calling Cleveland about him and it will be hard for them to resist trading him. Because of his age and his reasonable contract options, Carmona could be the most attractive pitcher on this list after Lee if he has put it back together.

RHP Jake Westbrook (2-2, 4.56), Indians
2010 Salary: $11 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: free agent
Age as of June 1, 2010: 32

After missing most of 2008 and all of 2009, Westbrook is back and is likely to get traded. The return will be based on how many teams are interested. His salary might scare some teams away, but not everyone.

RHP Kevin Millwood (0-4, 3.71), Orioles
2010 Salary: $12 million (Rangers paying $3 million)
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: Type-B free agent
Age as of June 1, 2010: 35

The Orioles are bad and Millwood’s veteran presence will be attractive to potential pennant chasers. Everyone looking to add pitching will call the Orioles about him.

RHP Jeremy Guthrie (2-4, 3.86), Orioles
2010 Salary: $3 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: arbitration eligible through 2012
Age as of June 1, 2010: 31

Jeremy Guthrie has been inconsistent and is getting closer to free agency which will drive up his value in up coming years.

The Orioles probably won’t feel pressured to trade him, but if he continues to pitch decently they could decide to sell high. He won’t be around by the time they are contenders anyways.

RHP Ben Sheets (2-3, 5.04), Althetics
2010 Salary: $10 million base salary, performance bonus upto $2 million based on innings
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: free agent, cannot be offered arbitration if Type-A eligible
Age as of June 1, 2010: 31

Sheets has been inconsistent this year and has especially struggled with his location.

But he has shown signs of improvement this year and because of that and his high price tag, the Athletics might be inclined to deal him. The cost of him depends on how he pitches over June and July.

RHP Gil Mech e (0-4, 6.75), Royals
2010 Salary: $12 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: $12 million in 2011
Age as of June 1, 2010: 31

Because he is struggling this season, is on the wrong side of 30, and has $24 million owed to him this year and next, Meche is probably the worst name on this list.

That means he could come cheaply to a desperate team. A change of scenery may do him a world of good too.

RHP Brian Bannister (3-3, 4.72), Royals
2010 Salary: $2.3 million
Owed in 2011 and Beyond: arbitration eligible through 2012
Age as of June 1, 2010: 29

The Royals will get a lot of calls about Bannister from teams looking for starting pitchers without a big price tag.

To be honest Bannister might not really be in the top 10 pitchers on the trading block, but I had to pick somebody. White Sox pitcher RHP Freddy Garcia , the Mariners RHP Ian Snell , and Brewers RHP’s Doug Davis and Jeff Suppan could potentially be here as well.

Remember, just because these players may be available for trade doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be traded. Salary also matters a lot in these deals. Many fans would like to see the Mets trade Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo , but most of the teams with players on this list have no desire to take on those kinds of contracts.

That means the Mets are going to have to include players in deals for these pitchers that could hurt. While they may be able to protect top prospects Jenrry Mejia and Ike Davis , players like OF Fernando Martinez , IF Wilmer Flores , and even RHP Brad Holt might have to be included to get a deal done.

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• May 22, 2010 — Is Roy Oswalt to the Mets a Possibility? (0)
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Here are a couple of items I hadn’t mentioned yet that are worth a minute of your time, but didn’t warrant their own posts.

• The Mets put John Maine on the DL yesterday with what is being termed as “shoulder weakness.”

• The move that everyone thought was going to happen to go along with it was the activation of Ryota Igarashi from the disabled list, but before the game manager Jerry Manuel said he needed one more appearance in the minors.

• Instead, the Mets recalled journeyman Elmer Dessens from the minor leagues for bullpen help.

• So whenever the Mets do recall Igarashi, it will probably be the same day they finally send Jenrry Mejia down to the minors to be stretched out as a starter.

• Alex Cora made the throwing error that ultimately led to the Yankees’ only two runs of the game. The reason Cora was playing? Because Luis Castillo was scratched with a sore foot. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported that he has been dealing with this foot since spring training and made it sound like a DL stint might be necessary.

• Finally there is the issue of Jose Reyes ‘ overactive thyroid that kept him out in the beginning of the season. Reyes said that the problem is behind him, but he has to go in for one more test sometime next week. If the test goes well, it will be the final one for him.

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The Mets may or may not be able to trade for Roy Oswalt, but one pitcher who might be available that they should look into is righty Chad Gaudin who was recently released from the Oakland Athletics.

Gaudin has struggled this season putting up an 8.83 ERA in just 12 games, but there are reasons to believe he could turn it around playing for the Mets. Some of his peripheral stats are pretty good. He’s struck out 20 batters and walked just five in 17.1 innings this year, and he was strong in 42 innings for the Yankees last season.

The biggest part of his struggles have been due to the long ball. He allowed five all ready this year, and was designated for assignment after two particularly bad appearances in which he gave up four homers in just 4.1 innings. That seems a little fluky, and Citi Field would also contribute to lowering that number as well.

This is not a move that is going to change the face of the Mets franchise, but at the league minimum he could make a big difference with his versatility. The Mets bullpen has been strong this season so far, but it really is only a matter of time before manager Jerry Manuel burns through some of those guys that he is leaning on pretty heavily. Gaudin could also fill in the rotation that has been in flux for the past couple of weeks.

This is exactly the type of low-risk maneuver that goes a long way to getting those extra wins that the Mets are desperately going to need if they are to compete for the wild card this season.

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Houston Astros ace pitcher Roy Oswalt has asked owner Drayton McLane Jr. to trade him by this year’s trade deadline.

The catch is that Oswalt has a no-trade clause and has asked that he be traded to a contending team. He also makes $15 million this year and is under contract for $16 million next year with a $16 million club option for 2012.

That leaves the Mets, who have as big a pitching need as any team in baseball, as sort of a question mark. Assuming the two teams could work out a deal together, a question mark in of itself, Oswalt might decide that he doesn’t want any part of the Mets and veto a deal.

There is also the question of whether or not the Mets can afford taking on that big of a contract. I have always assumed that they can handle a contract like that no matter what they say, but they did pass on John Lackey and Joel Pineiro this offseason. Attendance has also been down, which hurts the team’s spending.

Last week Mike Puma of the NY Post wrote that fans shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for the Mets to trade for Oswalt as the team seems so strapped for cash that they have stopped short of eating even $1.8 million that they owe outfielder Gary Matthews Jr.

That might not be the entire story though. It is possible, although admittedly unlikely, that the reason why they are tight for cash is because they are saving up for a big deal like this at the trade deadline.

Right now there has been nothing leaked that makes us believe that a deal for Oswalt to any team is imminent, so this could be a long drawn out process. Astros’ GM Ed Wade was also quoted saying something like, and I’m paraphrasing here until I can find the exact quote, “He has a no-trade clause, not a trade-me clause.” That translates to—we’ll trade him if it makes sense for us to trade him.

So there is nothing to say that he definitely will get traded. There is also no way of knowing right now if he would veto a trade to Flushing. On top of all of that, there is no way to know if the Astros like the Mets prospects enough that they would accept a deal.

Roy Oswalt is on the trading block right now, but it is way too early to tell if he is coming to Flushing or not. Wait and see.

What are your thoughts? Will the Mets get serious in pursuit of a pitcher of Oswalt’s skill level?

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The Texas Rangers have been in search of a catcher and, according to T.R. Sullivan and Chris Cox of MLB.com, they have made it known that if the Mets put Rod Barajas on the trade block, they would have interest.

Of course they would want Barajas. An ex-Ranger, he is very quietly having a great season. In 34 games, he has a team leading 10 home runs and a .871 OPS. Combine that with a very favorable contract, (he’s signed for one year and $500,000, not including a $400,000 bonus for making the Opening Day roster and another $1 million in performance incentives) and he is quite an attractive trade piece.

That doesn’t mean they would get a big time prospect in return for Barajas, but it could net them a solid piece a la last year’s Billy Wagner trade, which got them Chris Carter.

However, next year’s free agent market isn’t exactly a golden one for catchers and unless the Mets plan on making a run for Victor Martinez, who is a better DH or first baseman than a catcher, they should probably hang on to Barajas in hopes that they can resign him this offseason.

On the other hand, Barajas is on pace for possibly the best season of his career. Maybe the Mets should take advantage of that and make a deal while his value is at its highest.

What are your thoughts? Keep Barajas or dump him? Henry Blanco is quite a strong defensive catcher, it might not be bad to go with him.

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The Mets dropped the first game of the Subway Series 2-1 despite getting a big performance by Hisanori Takahashi who made his first start of his career in place of the injured Jon Nies.

Takahashi pitched six strong innings, but when he came out in the seventh the Yankees took advantage of an Alex Cora throwing error with a two-RBI double from rookie Kevin Russo that put them ahead for good.

The Mets did briefly mount a comeback in the ninth inning against Mariano Rivera. With two outs the Mets got a double from Jason Bay and then an Ike Davis double scored their first run. The stage was set for David Wright, but Rivera induced a groundball and the game was over.

Notes

• Jose Reyes went 0-for-4. His average is down to .211.

• Alex Cora went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.

• Jason Bay went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

• Ike Davis went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

• David Wright went 0-for-4. His average is down to .255.

• Angel Pagan went 1-for-3.

• Rod Barajas went 0-for-3.

• Jeff Francoeur went 0-for-3. His average is down to .221.

• Hisanori Takahashi’s line: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR.

• Elmer Dessens (0.2 IP), Oliver Perez (0.1 IP), Fernando Nieve (0 IP), Pedro Feliciano (1 IP), and Manny Acosta (1 IP) combined for this line: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HR.

Thoughts

• With the rotation in shambles the Mets still got a great start out of Takahashi but failed to take advantage of it. The bullpen didn’t even pitch poorly and might have escaped the seventh without Cora’s error.

• In Takahashi’s last appearance he threw 60 pitches, last night he threw 100. He should be fine, but that is a big step for a pitcher. The Mets might want to fire Jerry Manuel just to save the pitching staff from being completely blown out.

• Speaking of blown out pitchers, Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano both had their major league leading 25th appearances last night. Takahashi and Raul Valdes both have few appearances, but both are in the top eight in innings pitched by relievers (last night’s start not counted for Takahashi).

• Ike Davis looked like he had no fear at all against Rivera in the ninth. This kid is exciting to watch and is on track to dethrone David Wright as the face of this franchise.

Quote

“We flinched, made one mistake and it cost us two runs,” Manuel said .

Line of the Day

Hisanori Takahashi’s line: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR. It has to be Takahashi. If he can step into the rotation and pitch with consistency then that is going to be huge for the Mets this year. I’m already looking forward to his next start.

Up Next

Can it get better than these next two matchups? Not only is it the Subway Series, but we get a battle of the young phenom pitchers tonight and a battle of the aces tomorrow. Wow.

Saturday, May 22: RHP Phil Hughes (5-0, 2.25) vs. RHP Mike Pelfrey (5-1, 3.02)

Sunday, May 23: LHP C.C. Sabathia (4.2, 3.43) vs. LHP Johan Santana (3-2, 3.72)

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The Mets manager, as I write this, is still Jerry Manuel, but between the way the Mets have played lately and the leaks that they have already settled on a replacement, former Diamondbacks manager and current Met scout Bob Melvin, it might not be too long until there is a new on field boss in Flushing.

Now we are hearing, via Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports, that if or when the Mets fire Manuel there is likely to be at least one coach to go with him.

Here is more from Rosenthal:

First-base coach Razor Shines, a confidante of Manuel’s, would be the coach most likely to lose his job, major-league sources say.

Third-base coach Chip Hale would be the most likely to stay – he previously served under Manuel’s expected replacement, Bob Melvin, with the Diamondbacks.

Hitting instructor Howard Johnson, a member of the Mets’ 1986 World Series championship club, also would figure to be secure, though he could be reassigned.

The rest of Manuel’s staff includes pitching coach Dan Warthen, bullpen coach Randy Niemann and bench Dave Jauss – who, like Hale, is in his first year with the team.

The Mets’ situation is so volatile, virtually anything can happen, sources say.

He goes on to name minor league field coordinator Terry Collins and Double-A Binghamton manager Tim Teufel as top candidates to be replacements.

My thoughts are that this is only natural.

It is like when a President leaves office, the new one picks an entirely new cabinet. Honestly though I would hope that the new manager be it Melvin or somebody else choose who goes into the dugout with him and not the Wilpons.

We’ll have to see what happens though. What are your thoughts?

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Here is how John Maine’s night went for the Mets last night.

A first pitch fastball at 85 MPH for a ball. An 83 MPH fastball, ball two. An 85 MPH fastball, ball three. An 85 MPH fastball, called strike one. An 85 MPH fastball, ball four.

That drew the attention of the coaching staff as manager Jerry Manuel was joined on the mound by pitching coach Dan Warthen, trainer Ray Ramirez, and just like that, Maine’s night was done.

This coming from a guy who used to hit 95 and 96 MPH with regularity when he was pitching well. Despite the lack of velocity though, Maine did not like it.

“I guess they didn’t see 95,” he said about the poor velocity. “It was a little slow, but it was the first batter of the game, cut me a little bit of slack.”

But his pitching coach knows better.

“If he’s throwing that way, then there’s got to be something incorrect in that arm,” Warthen said. “Something’s not feeling correct. John’s a habitual liar in a lot of ways as far as his own health. He’s a competitor and a warrior. He wants to go out there and pitch. But we have to be smart enough to realize this guy isn’t right, the ball’s not coming out of his hand correctly.”

Still, what really bothered Maine is that he said he felt OK, his coaches ignored him, and took him out anyways.

“No, I didn’t get a chance, and I think that’s what I’m most upset about,” he said. “They said they saw something, so they’re taking me out. I’m a little hurt by that. It wasn’t 100 MPH the first pitch. I never got asked to really see how I was or anything like that. They just said I was out. That’s what upset me the most.”

After the game the Mets scheduled an appointment for a doctor to check out Maine’s arm today and it’s safe to say he isn’t exactly thrilled about that either.

“I don’t need to go to a doctor,” he said. “I have felt pain for two years, but I don’t care about that. I wanted to pitch, the bottom line—I feel something all the time. We’re pitchers—I’m telling them everything that is going on. They know everything that is going on with me.”

Maine also expressed disappointment that his manager has lost all confidence in him.

“I’m sure he doesn’t have confidence in me. Whatever. My dealings are with Dan.”

It’s got to be hard for Maine right now and getting pulled after one batter has got to be the worst for a pitcher. Still, Maine is not helping anybody if he’s going out there with a fastball that tops out at 85 MPH.

In all honestly, the Mets need somebody better than that and, as rough as it is, Manuel did the right thing.

We’ll keep you updated on anything that happens with Maine. Until then, what are your thoughts on the situation?

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According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the New York Mets are currently shopping second baseman Luis Castillo and have gone as far as to contact the Rockies, who are looking for a replacement for the disappointing Melvin Mora.

Rosenthal is right to point out that Castillo is not one of the Mets’ biggest problems. His wOBA of .303 does leave a lot to be desired, but it is respectable, especially considering his UZR/150 is a positive 2.5 so far this year compared to a minus-12.7 and minus-9.5 over the last two years.

Still, with Daniel Murphy planning to move back to second base and getting closer to playing each day, it does make sense to move Castillo now. Actually, now is probably as perfect time as any.

The biggest problem the Mets are going to run into is that of salary. Castillo is owed the remainder of his $6 million salary this season and another $6 million next year. So in reality the Mets will have to eat quite a bit of that in order for this not to become a pure salary dump.

That’s not to say the Mets can’t move him without eating a large portion of his salary, but the more they eat the better the return.

It’s really hard to predict exactly what the Mets are going to do with this situation because it is hard to tell if they are considering themselves playoff contenders. At this point you’d have to think that they think they are, which would lead me to believe they’ll eat salary in order to get a better player—hopefully a pitcher.

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