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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