Reinforcements are on the way and general manager Sandy Alderson is bringing them in from outside the organization
With little other choice and very few options in Triple-A, Alderson today signed Neil Ramirez, late of the San Francisco Giants with a paper trail through Toronto.
Before you get all excited and saving your pennies for postseason tickets, remember, Ramirez had an 8.71 ERA this season and the Blue Jays didn’t even suit him up before giving him the boot.
But something had tol be done after the Mets bullpen became filled with arsonists with tanks of kerosene. After Jeurys Familia went down last Wednesday, it’s like the whole bullpen fell apart. No one is immune.
So, before the Mets, who are five games under .500 and lost five straight, go completely out of control – and it’s happening – more moves need to be made besides claiming Tommy Milone and signing Ramirez off the scrap heap.
Unfortunately, there are no saviors available on May 16 and Alderson needs to take shots in the dark. Outside the box thinking is needed here.
Here’s a suggestion: Raid Buddy Harrelson’s team, the Long Island Ducks.
Although they are in the Atlantic League and many of the players are Double-A and Triple-A caliber, who would get killed in New York, even much worse than the rag tag band of ragamuffins that are there now, the Ducks have a couple of interesting options in their ‘pen, which the Mets should take note.
First is Eric Gagne, who we profiled last week. The former Cy Young winner said he wants to get back to the big leagues and impressed several scouts in the World Baseball Classic. He even almost had a contract with the Dodgers at the beginning of the season, which fell through.
The downside is that he’s 41 and may have some problems pitching in back-to-back days. So, you must wonder if he can handle Terry Collins’s heavy reliever load.
A better option may be former Met David Aardsma, who has giving up one run in nine appearances. He also has four saves. He’s looking pretty solid at age 35 and maybe could be a decent option. Heck he must be better than what they have right now. He knows Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen, so it’s a perfect fit.
Now I’m not the only one out there touting the Mets sign the Ducks. In Newsday, today fans are ranting to pick up Gagne and on a podcast and on Twitter, Aardsma is getting some play.
Get at it Sandy. You can keep picking up these waiver wire guys who have inflated ERAs or some guys who are pitching well just a few miles east on the Long Island Expressway.
Raid the Ducks, Sandy. Make it happen.
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