We want a Lefty not named Lee

The Mets chances of getting Cliff Lee were probably equivalent to King James gracing the Nets with his talents in 2010. So the Tri-State area now needs to shift the focus from getting a star, to a piece that will help a playoff push. Since the Mets supposedly don’t have enough God-like prospects to trade with almighty Seattle (Neither do the Yankees I guess?), the most logical move would be to trade for Ted Lilly. Adding a crafty left-hander to the back of the rotation isn’t too exciting but Lilly would provide depth and allow Takahashi to revive a depleted bullpen.

Let’s get into the numbers for Ted Lilly:
In his last 4 years with Chicago in the National League, Lilly has posted a 3.71 ERA and is 15 games over .500 with the Cubies. Lilly is a fly ball pitcher which explains his rather high, 1.3 HR/9 average. This would work to Lilly’s advantage at Citi Field. I’m sure many balls that sail out at Wrigley Field will barely make the warning track in Flushing. Lilly also doesn’t walk too many batters (2.1 BB/9 in 2010) and gets his share of strikeouts considering his velocities sinking below 90. In 2010 Ted has gone 3-7 but has an ERA that’s better than any one of Ollie Perez, John Maine and Hisanori Takahashi.

Besides the numbers, Ted Lilly would benefit the Mets in a number of ways.

• He is a solid back end of the rotation pitcher.
• Chicago wants to dump salary, they would most likely take a package of average joe minor leaguers in return. This would leave the Mets room to acquire another reliever.
• He is a free agent at the end of the season…
• Best of all, (Drum Roll please) according to MLBTR, Lilly projects as a Type A Free Agent. That means the Mets would receive two supplemental draft picks in return for an aging veteran.

If the price is right, It was be a no-brainer to trade for Ted Lilly than let him walk, take the draft picks and maybe this time next year Seattle will respect at least one New York farm system.

Stats courtesy of baseballreference.com