Three Pitchers, Outfielder Sign Minor League Contracts with Mets

The Mets signed pitchers Tony Armas Jr., Valerio de los Santos, and Matt DeSalvo to minor league contracts along with outfielder Bobby Kielty.

Armas was with the Mets last season. He made only three appearances in the majors and spent most of his time in Triple-A. He had an excellent season with New Orleans, posting a 2.54 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. However, he had an ugly 7.56 ERA in 8 1/3 innings with the big league club. He will likely spend 2009 in Triple-A and serve as insurance in case of injuries to the Mets starting rotation.

Kielty struggled in the minors last year. He will compete for a job in spring training, but his numbers are dismal and with the abundance of outfielders in the organization I don't even see him getting a spot on the Triple-A Buffalo roster. He is a right-handed bat in contrast to the three left-handed hitting outfielders the Mets have acquired this offseason (Reed, Sullivan, Mackowiak).

DeSalvo has the biggest upside of the four signees. The 28-year-old right hander with a September 11th birthday has thrown just 29 2/3 major league innings. He has a horrid 7.89 ERA in that small sample but has put up decent minor league numbers. He posted a 2.70 ERA in 20 starts with Triple-A Scranton in 2007.

De los Santos is that left-handed reliever some fans have been hoping for. It seems that Omar has scooped him up off the scrap heap and will give him a chance in Spring Training and see if he can make the ball club. He has a career 4.57 ERA.