“We’re looking for starting pitching, we’re looking for left-handed relief and fourth and fifth outfielder possibilities—I’d say in that order of priority,” said New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson in an interview with ESPN’s Adam Rubin.
Mets fans already know about the need to acquire another arm to compete in the starting rotation, especially with our ace Johan Santana gone until at least the All-Star break.
After signing Chris Capuano last week, Alderson has stated this will not hinder the team from acquiring another reliable arm and word around the MLB rumor mill is the Mets have their eyes set on former Blue Jay and Brewer Dave Bush.
The right-handed Bush could very well be what the Mets need: A low risk/high reward pitcher who could actually live up to the hype.
In 184 starts at the major league level, Bush is 56-68 with a 4.66 ERA in 1,104 innings. He is a guy who pitches for contact and doesn’t walk a lot of batters, which could prove beneficial for him at in Citi Field.
Bush is the most recent pitcher on the Mets radar, behind Chris Young and Jeff Francis, but he may have the most going for him of the men on this list.
Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2002, Bush is already familiar with Mets Special Assistant J.P. Ricciardi, who is vital in the team’s decision making and has a lot of pull with Sandy Alderson.
Despite a drop of about two mph off his fastball in 2010, Bush was second on the Brewers staff with 18 quality starts and ultimately won eight of those games.
He throws a four- and two-seamer, curve and change-up and has command that is unbeatable. In the NL, where guys with two-seamers at 91 to 92 mph could potentially win 15 games, Bush’s production in 2011 could see him wining upward of 10 games with a low-3 ERA and close to eight strikeouts per nine innings.
If Alderson and Ricciardi can sign Bush to a deal less than Chris Capuano’s 1.5 million base salary, Dave Bush could have a breakthrough year and secure himself as a fixture in the New York Mets rotation.
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