Bullpen Taking Shape, Mets Possibly Looking for a Lefty

The Mets have certainly improved their bullpen this offseason with numerous moves including the acquisitions of Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz.

Those two elite pitchers have the closer and eigth inning setup roles locked down. The remainder of the Mets bullpen will consist of lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green (acquired with Putz from Seattle), and several pitchers competing for the final three spots.

Brian Stokes is a likely candidate to take the long relief role. Duaner Sanchez, Robert Parnell, Connor Robertson, Rule 5 draftee Rocky Cherry, Eddie Kunz and Carlos Muniz are all candidates for spots in the Citi Field bullpen.

The Mets have had two left-handers (Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis) in their 'pen for the last two seasons and could be looking to add a second lefty for the 2009 bullpen.

Joe Beimel, who posted a 2.02 ERA with the Dodgers in 2008, is top lefty reliever. However, he will likely command $4 million per season. Since the Mets are already paying $4.4 million for Putz to be their setup man, they are unlikely to sign Beimel.

More likely options are Japanese pitcher Ken Takahashi, former Braves reliever Will Ohman, and ex-Brewer Brian Shouse.

Acquiring a starting pitcher or two seems to be the priority right now, but Omar Minaya is likely keeping an eye on the lefty reliever market.