Beltran may be done for year. Plot thickens?

[Gurgi]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06292009/sports/mets/beltran_seeks_second_opinion_on_knee_inj_176742.htm

Beltran has been on the disabled list since June 22 with what the Mets described as a bone bruise in his knee that was only getting bigger with continued playing time.

If Beltran ends up having microfracture surgery, he would miss the rest of the season, at the very least. The three-time Gold Glove winner is signed with the Mets through 2011, with $18.5 million due in each of the final two years of the contract.

Coincidentally, word of Beltran's Colorado visit came on the same day Major League Baseball announced that Beltran continues to hold on to his slim lead for the third and final outfield spot in the All-Star Game next month in St. Louis.

As usual with the injury-ravaged Mets, Ricco downplayed the seriousness of Beltran's visit to Steadman by painting it as a chance for Steadman "to see that we're on the same page.""

It does, however, appear to be another case of the Mets making an injury worse by having Beltran continue to play on it.

Beltran admitted last week that he had been bothered by pain in the knee for much of the season but stayed in the lineup. As a result, Beltran's most recent MRI exam showed the size of the bruise had doubled since late May.

The likelihood that Beltran will now miss a sizable amount of time, if not the rest of the season, puts even more pressure on Mets GM Omar Minaya to swing a trade to bring his depleted team a bat.

Washington's Nick Johnson and Aubrey Huff of the Orioles have been the names linked most often to the Mets in the wake of Mark DeRosa's weekend trade to the Cardinals.

NY is getting desperate that is no doubt. They need to try to bring off a semi-blockbuster trade. Could they give us enough to get Huff and Scott? Are they barren?

[Mackus]

I don't think they have enough to get Scott that really interests me, unless they move Martinez which obviously isn't happening and we don't really need a LF anyways (although that could slide Reimold to DH or 1B).

For Huff we could make something happen though.

[Gurgi]

Got to get them to give up Flores(raw as heck), and Holt.

[brvn52]

Huff and Scott for Niese, Havens, and Mejia? Maybe add in Baez/Sherrill for Evans and Marte?

IMO, Huff and Scott would SLUG in the NL East. O's, on the other hand, get 2 very good, young (and advanced) pitching prospects in addition to a SS of the future.

The Mets have a ton of intriguing prospects and IMO are a very good match when dealing with guys like Huff and Scott. We're in a position now where we can take a gamble on some high risk, high reward guys (Mejia, Havens, Marte, etc.) due to the fact that we have such a high inventory of advanced pitchers. Between Niese/Havens/Mejia/Evans/Marte, there is a TON of upside. Giving up Huff, Scott, and Baez/Sherrill for all that upside, while it is a risk, is a very wise and calculated risk and would be a very good move on our part IMO.