Sunday Morning Roundup

...It's been another quiet weekend for Mets fans. Nothing significant has happened on the free agent or trade front regarding either the Mets starting rotation or their lineup.

The Mets did however make 1 small signing, inking Rob Mackowiak to a $600,000 minor league contract.

From the Ny Post:

If Mackowiak makes the team he will have a base salary of $600,000 and he has a chance to earn an additional $200,000 in bonuses depending on plate appearances between 250 and 500.

Mackowiak, 32, played in just 38 games with the Nationals before being released. He hit .132 for Washington. He finished the season playing 49 games for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate.

I guess they're trying to corner the market on light hitting, defense first, left handed outfielders. With the signing of Mackowiak, Corey Sullivan & the trade for Jeremy Reed they now have 3 of those with MLB experience to choose from.

What else? The Mets may have leaked the information of possibly being ready to offer a 4th year to Oliver Perez, but only if the yearly total is lessened. What a typical Met move.

In a blog post by Jon Heyman at SI.com, he had the following to say:

The Mets are believed to have improved their original thought, which was for about $30 million over three years. But it isn't certain what their latest offer is.

Perez remains the Mets' top choice for the final spot in their rotation, though the team has remained in contact with three other free-agent pitchers -- Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Ben Sheets. They know they'd have competition for Wolf (Dodgers), Garland (Diamondbacks) and Sheets (Rangers, possibly Yankees) but aren't sure what other teams are competing for Perez.

The Mets had been hopeful to land free agent Derek Lowe earlier but were surprised when the rival Braves outbid them by $24 million, landing Lowe with a $60-million, four-year contract. Perez, 27, is eight years younger than Lowe, though not quite as consistent.

Mets GM Omar Minaya would love to import Perez, so the Mets are not likely to take one of the other pitchers unless he feels his chances for Perez are gone.

Check out www.MetsBlog.com for all other weekend stories!