Heading into today’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets currently sit in third place in the NL East – behind 1st place by a growing gap of 7.5 games. That seems a world away from right before the All-Star break, where the Mets were in striking distance of the Braves, going to Atlanta, only to lose the series 2-1. Still, at the All-Star break, the Mets had to feel good. Carlos Beltran was set to come back. Their pitching was holding up. But, as this long road trip has shown us – the Mets struggle heavily on the road. The Mets offense has been dismal – seemingly getting shut-out or held below three runs in every game. In the last ten games, the Mets are 2-8, highlighted by last nights’ loss in the thirteenth inning – on a walk off home run given up by none other than Mr. Oliver “I’m-too-good-to-go-to-the-minors-even-though-I-have-a-1837489.23 ERA” Perez. The Mets need to change something, and fast. An offense with Jason Bay batting seventh would seem like a pretty good offense, wouldn’t it? Not with Bay struggling to prove his worth. The Mets need to make some sort of move – trade Francouer. Trade Pagan. Heck, trade Beltran if we can improve in return. The Mets faithful are tired of empty promises. Tired of disappointment. Tired of falling apart at the stretch. Hey, right now we’re even falling apart before the stretch! That could give us reason to be a little less heartbroken.

Carlos Beltran will make his return to the Mets right after the All-Star Break, when the Mets begin an 11 game road trip on Thursday. Beltran answered questions at a press conference at Citi Field before today’s game – the interview from mets.com can be read here. With Angel Pagan performing well, the Mets have four quality outfield starters with Beltran’s return, and that means one man will be left out – which Manuel says will be Jeff Francouer.

Manuel said his tentative plan has the lineup reading: Jose Reyes, Pagan, David Wright, Beltran, Ike Davis and Jason Bay, followed by that day’s catcher and second baseman.

That leaves current starting right fielder Jeff Francoeur out of the fold, but Manuel said that he will likely start Francoeur, who has hit .302 against lefties and .256 against righties for his career, against left-handed starters. Above all, Manuel will look to keep Francoeur sharp, even if the team doesn’t draw a lefty for a stretch.

“If we’re in a series and we face four righties, we still have to find time for Francoeur,” Manuel said.

Jason Bay did not start today against the Braves, as he has been struggling mightily the past few games. The Mets will look to finish today’s series finale against the Braves with a win, then look to reverse their road woes with Beltran coming back during their west coast road trip.

SI’s Jon Heyman has reported the Mets will acquire outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels. Heyman adds the Angels will pay a lot of his salary and the Mets did this because they are concerned about centerfielder Carlos Beltran. 

Matthews signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Angels in 2006. A year later the Angels signed outfielder Torii Hunter to a five-year deal and Matthews’ productivity went down. He was part of the Mets organization in 2002.

Matthews has $23.5 million left on his contract and Heyman says Angels will pick up about $21.5 million of it.

Reliever Brian Stokes will go to the Angels in the deal.

Carlos Beltran will be out for over 12 weeks and will miss opening day plus some after undergoing knee surgery. His absence leaves a void for the Mets in centerfield. What the Mets do depends on how they feel about the status of Beltran and the outfielders they currently have on their roster, specifically Angel Pagan.   

If the Mets make an outfield signing it means:
A. They don’t trust Angel Pagan
and/or
B. They don’t feel as though Beltran will recover well and they see the injury as lingering throughout the rest of the season

If the Mets stay put and don’t make a signing it means:
A. They have faith Angel Pagan can do the job 
and/or
B. They expect Beltran to recover well and get back to old form

People on twitter are pretty split on this. Some people believe Pagan can get the job done while Beltran recovers/rehabs and others feel they must make a signing because the Mets tried to make do in 2009 when they had injuries and it didn’t work out. 

The list of current free agent outfielders includes Rick Ankiel, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Reed Johnson, Rocco Baldelli, Jonny Gomes, Jermaine Dye, and Marcus Thames among others. Citi Field has a lot of area to cover in centerfield so obviously some of the names aforementioned may not be a good choice defensively for the Mets. A lot of people are circling Ankiel’s name on that list. 

What do you think the Mets will do? Will they dip into the free agent pool or will they stay put and try to stay afloat while waiting for Beltran’s return?

News has come out that Carlos Beltran has had minor knee surgery and New York Post’s Joel Sherman heard it was a “standard scope”. Sherman adds that Beltran had worsening osteoarthritis in his right knee and that led to the arthroscopic cleanup. The Mets say it will be 12 weeks until Beltran can resume baseball activities.

News has also come out that Beltran had the surgery without the Mets permission. 

The following is an official statement from the Mets PR department:

“Carlos Beltran had worsening of osteoarthritis of the right knee during the offseason. He had not been experiencing pain following the conclusion of the season and into his early offseason conditioning. The symptoms returned to the point where pre-spring training conditioning became too painful. Beltran elected to undergo arthroscopic clean out of the arthritic area of his knee by his personal physician Dr. Richard Steadman today in Colorado. He is anticipated to return to baseball activities in 12 weeks.”

The Mets introduced their new star left fielder Jason Bay today at Citi Field. Bay met the New York media for the first time as a Met Tuesday and he’ll be inserted into a Mets lineup that was filled with injuries in 2009. The Mets in hot pursuit of Bay since the early stages of free agency and they finally landed their big fish.

Bay’s four-year $66 million contract doesn’t allow the Mets to address other glaring needs through free agency, but the signing will provide the Mets with a much needed power bat in the middle of their lineup. Bay, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran will bat third, fourth and fifth in some order. 

The signing of Bay is meaningful for the fact that the Mets may not have a power hitting first basemen. Whether their first basemen be the young Daniel Murphy or an older Carlos Delgado, it doesn’t seem as though they’ll receive much power from that position. Citi Field is a big ballpark and the Mets need someone who can drive the ball to the deep parts of the field.

While the Mets were in pursuit of Bay, it was said that Bay did not want to join the Mets. Bay denied those allegations at the press conference.

“I wouldn’t have signed the contract if I didn’t want to be here or I wasn’t happy. This is one of the biggest days of my life,” Bay told the media. 

Bay has hit over 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in four of the last five years. Last season, with the Red Sox, he hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs. Bay was one of the top three free agents on the market.

Let’s face it. The Mets aren’t in a good position. They have a lot of question marks on their roster due to all of the injuries they suffered in 2009. They also have a lot of holes to fill. The team has said they don’t want to increase their payroll by more than $20 million from 2009 therefore making it hard to fill all of the holes through free agency, especially if they sign one of the top free agents who will demand most of the $20 million. 

The following are the holes the Mets need to fill and what they can do to fill them:

Pitchers: First and foremost, Omar Minaya needs to focus on getting a number two starter to pitch behind Johan Santana. The Mets can have the best offense in the National League, but without having another viable starting pitcher behind Johan, they won’t get to the next level. Free agent John Lackey is going to cost them an estimated $16 million a year. Although they should spend their money on Lackey, the cheaper route would be signing Jason Marquis or Joel Pineiro.   

Left Field: The Mets have offered Jason Bay a four-year deal worth $65 million. They’ll also get into talks with Matt Holliday although it’s doubtful they’ll sign him. Spending money on a left fielder will certainly handcuff the team from spending elsewhere. The Mets can get away with signing a second-tier left fielder if their core players like Carlos Beltran and David Wright rebound in 2010. Marlon Byrd would be a good signing for them at left field. 

Catcher: It seems certain the Mets will work out a deal with free agent catcher Bengie Molina. The deal will most likely work out to be a two-year deal for around $12 million. By the time this contract ends, catching prospect Josh Thole should be ready to start. 

These aren’t the Mets only holes though. They also need a setup man and a first basemen. Daniel Murphy is penciled in as the first basemen right now, but things can change. The 24 year old is going to have to hit for more power to remain the team’s first basemen.

Being in New York city, being in the same town as the Yankees, having a brand new ball park, having to sell seats in that brand new ball park, and having an anxious, annoyed fan base makes it hard for the Mets to sit around and do nothing. They can’t remain static. They have to make a move to appease their fans and sell tickets.

There’s no better words to the ears of Met fans than “it’s the offseason” after a horrific 2009 season that ended with a World Series matchup between the two teams they hate the most. The Mets figure to be in the market for a marquee left fielder and the free agent class has some good ones to offer starting at the top. Matt Holliday, who may be the biggest name on the market, leads the left field class along with Jason Bay.

Left fielders the Mets should concern themselves with:
Johnny Damon – Signing Damon would allow Reyes to bat third and gives the Mets a pesky leadoff hitter. It deepens the Mets lineup, allowing Wright to bat fourth and Beltran to bat fifth.
Marcus Thames – Thames has some pop in his bat and could provide power batting sixth in the Mets lineup.
Marlon Byrd – Byrd had his best year in 2009 hitting 20 home runs and driving in 89. He’s on the second tier and would be a cost effective option at left field.

Left fielders the Mets should make a run for:
Matt Holliday - Holliday is the the premiere name in the 2010 free agent class and is expecting Mark Teixeira-like figures. Pairing him with Wright would make a fearsome middle of the order. Holliday may be better suited in the National League but he’ll get offers from teams all around the league.
Jason Bay – Bay had a big year in Boston and would do wonders in the Mets lineup and locker room. He would be a terror in the middle of the Mets lineup. Bay is going to want a big contract after the season he had in 2009. He had 36 home runs and drove in 119. Boston will be players in the chase for Holliday and Bay and will most likely sign one of them.
Carl Crawford - The Rays have an option on Crawford in 2010 but if they don’t pick it up the Mets should make a play for him. He’ll get less attention than Holliday and Bay and would team with Reyes to make the Mets an all out basestealing team. Reyes and Crawford batting would make the Mets’ three, four and five hitters better.

Dark Horse candidates:
Rick Ankiel – Ankiel had a down year in 2009 compared to ’08 but could make a resurgence with a new team. I won’t call him a center fielder by trade because he was once a pitcher. Defensively, the switch from center to left wouldn’t be an issue. 
Hideki Matsui – The World Series MVP may not be headed back to the Bronx although he would like to. The team in Queens will take a look to see if his knees can handle the everyday grind in the outfield.
Xavier Nady – Nady was with the Mets in 2006 but was playing right field. He’s a veteran and a career .280 hitter. He’d be a nice option behind the upper echelon of left fielders.

The Mets left fielder in 2010 will be:
Marlon Byrd – Holliday and Bay will sign for megabucks elsewhere and the Rays will pick up Crawford’s option. Byrd has put together decent numbers the last three seasons and could break out in 2010 with the Mets.

New York Mets fans, a bitter and depressed bunch, will not want to acknowledge this, but amidst all the injuries and disappointments, there is one player who had a stellar 2009 year, surprising everyone by finishing second on the team in runs, hits, steals, walks and on-base percentage and third in total bases.

Yet that player is frequently thought of as Public Enemy #1: Luis Castillo.

Unlike past whipping boys (Roger Cedeno, Armando Benitez, Carlos Baerga, Roberto Alomar), Castillo really did turn himself around after a dismal year last year. Sure, he’s still a mediocre defensive player and has little pop in his bat and, of course, general manager Omar Minaya made a huge mistake in signing him to the four-year contract, but…. his .387 OBP was his best since 2005 and third best in his career—before a final swoon in the closing days he was hitting .313 on September 22nd, with an OBP of .401, both marks that put Castillo among the league leaders.

Since the Mets are stuck with him next year they should look at those numbers and think about what Castillo’s re-birth could mean to the 2010 Mets. If they’re smart, they’ll revisit an experiment Jerry Manuel tinkered with in spring training– Castillo, properly deployed, could actually solve a host of the Mets’ myraid problems and give fans hope for next season.

The one way he is worth close to the $8 million is as a lead-off hitter, which not only gives the Mets a true table-setter but it frees them to create a Citi Field lineup—one that would feel like the a vastly more talented version of the 1980s St. Louis Cardinals team that won three NL pennants (including one World Series) in five years, while giving the Mets fits.

With Castillo first, the Mets could drop Jose Reyes to third in the batting order. As a #3 hitter, Reyes could flourish like Hanley Ramirez–if he hits 12 homers, 20 triples and 35 doubles but has only a .350 OBP he is far more effective in that spot, and less likely to get frustrated or to frustrate fans, then he is in the lead-off slot.

With Reyes hitting third, Wright clean-up, Beltran 5th and Francoeur sixth, the Mets have a lineup with moderate power but capable of hitting balls in the big gaps at Citi Field. Angel Pagan, whose knack for triples fits perfectly in this new mindset, could play left and bat second or seventh, sharing both spots with doubles expert Daniel Murphy (who put his best numbers up in the #2 and #7 spots).

Think of it this way–if the lead-off hitter is Reyes, a lot of times he can’t maximize Castillo’s OBP since walks won’t advance Reyes and infield hits or little bloops to the outfield won’t drive home a run. Yet if Castillo leads off and reaches base in any of those fashions, he has the speed to score on a double or triple from Murphy, Pagan or Reyes.

Additionally, this new lineup means the Mets would just need to find a right-hander with power to spell Murphy and Pagan against lefties (like Jonny Gomes of the Reds) instead of a full-fledged star (having screwed up and not signed Adam Dunn last year)—that would be much more affordable in the open market or in terms of talent via a trade.

Thus they could devote more money or trade chips to acquiring a genuine #2 starter (like Jon Lackey), which is far and away the team’s biggest need. Astonishingly, all that can flow from acknowledging Castillo’s one real strength and building from there. If the Mets do it and win then maybe Castillo will even take home the 2010 MVP Award.

Stuart Miller is the author of “The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports” and “Where Have All Our Giants Gone?”. You can visit is website at 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports.