See Toby Hyde’s Mets Minor League Blog

Few of the experts are mentioning the Mets doing anything. With the emergence of Jon Niese as ML ready, it looks like the Mets might look to him this season if he is needed. Without question next season,but he will not be dealt.

I find the talk of Scott Schoeneweis’ inclusion in trade talks curious as I thought the club was looking for bullpen help.

Jon Niese’s promotion to AAA New Orleans is a possible signal he’s being fast-tracked for starts this season for the Mets. Niese is scheduled to start tonight for the Zephyrs.

As the MRI of John Maine’s shoulder revealed a strain in his rotator cuff, its likely he will miss at least a start. The Mets may indeed even DL him. Pedro Martinez continues to be a shaky alternative for scheduled starts. The Mets may have concluded that their best acquisition could be Jon Niese.

Both Martinez (last contract year) and Oliver Perez (free agent) will likely be gone after this season. The discussions that occur between powers that be have probably concluded now that Niese is one of their best options for the rotation and maybe he’s going to be needed this season.

So it looks as if Jon Niese will not and cannot be dealt. Along with Fernando Martinez, Niese represents the future and the badly needed chance for the Mets to get younger. Unless a Raul Ibanez or Randy Winn can be acquired for a secong tier prospect, the Mets will play with this hand and pray that the corner OF tandum of Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez and Nick Evans (2-4, 2 runs scored last night against a lefty last night) continues to provide as it has.

In Toby Hyde’s informative blog on the Mets minor league teams comes word that Jon Niese had an excellent start on Thursday night (7IP, 6H, 0R, 1BB, 8K). According to Hyde, all six hits were singles. Its already been reported that serveral scouts attend Niese’s starts. They liked what they saw Thursday night and the reports were likely to be in the hands of personel people yesterday when they spoke to Minaya. As they’ve let it out already that Niese is in potential deals, its likely the Mets did not have enough else to get Nady whom the Mets would have loved to get back. Or maybe the Pirates wanted to move both Nady and Marte in the same deal.

But with the acquisition of Casy Blake by the Dodgers, two good fits for the Mets’ needs are out of circulation. But I don’t believe the Mets would have moved Niese for Blake. Maybe for Nady though.

So to put Niese’s value in another perspective, only one other OF reported to be available which matches Niese in value is Jason Bay. Not Raul Ibanez. Not Brian Giles. I don’t believe that Minaya would move Niese for either of the later two, but for Bay, yes.

Still, I believe that Minaya is also still trying to help his bullpen and wouldn’t mind packaging assets in a deal to get both much like the Yankees did in their acquisition of Nady an Marte.shig Perhaps he’s like to get both Ibanez and Arthur Rhodes in a deal. This would make some sense.

And what of the Colorado Rockies? The Mets would love to have Brian Fuentes, and would also welcome discussing an OF, too. If not Matt Holiday, then perhaps Brad Hawpe. But things seem to be cooling from the Rockies on the trade front.

In summary, the Mets need to assess where they are. The Yankees trade could prompt them more than you think. With the team in first, Minaya needs to show that he is trying to help. The club has responded far better than anyone could fathom. Minaya will have to do something to make the team better to sustain the current team psyche for the 2 months that remain.