Francisco Rodriguez's agent will be at the general managers' meetings next week in Dana Point, Calif., and the representative for Brian Fuentes likely will be there, too. The Mets have little to lose by meeting with both in their search for Billy Wagner's replacement. But the Mets, wary of the high price of the relievers, also will explore other avenues to reach their goal. They believe they have a deep enough farm system to trade prospects for a reliever, if the right scenario presents itself.
The obvious candidates are Seattle's J.J. Putz and Oakland's Huston Street. Other possibilities include Baltimore's George Sherrill, Kansas City's Joakim Soria and Florida's Kevin Gregg; the Marlins are going to need to trade some of their many arbitration-eligible players, and this Marlins front office conducted business with the Mets three years ago with theCarlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca trades. Continue