Mets Add a Setup Man, the Mariners’ Putz

LAS VEGAS — The Mets officially welcomed their new closer, Francisco Rodríguez, on Wednesday, giving him a team jacket and parading him around Citi Field. Accomplishing his primary off-season objective excited General Manager Omar Minaya, whose promised remodeling of his pitching staff is coming quickly and in reverse order.
On Wednesday night, Minaya completed a three-team, 12-player trade with Seattle and Cleveland that netted Mariners closer J. J. Putz. The right-handed Putz, who will be 32 in February, will set up Rodríguez to form one of the most imposing late-inning combinations in baseball.

“All I kept hearing on the streets of New York when I go get bagels in the morning, ‘Omar, address the bullpen,’ ” Minaya said. “Well, to you, Mets fans, we’ve addressed the bullpen.”

The Mets also received Jeremy Reed, an outfielder, and Sean Green, a right-handed reliever, from Seattle. In the first step of their bullpen purge, the Mets sent relievers Joe Smith to Cleveland and Aaron Heilman to Seattle, which will also receive from the Mets outfielder Endy Chávez, pitcher Jason Vargas, the minor league first baseman Mike Carp, the minor league pitcher Maikel Cleto and the minor league outfielder Ezequiel Carrera.

In less than 48 hours, the Mets have secured the American League West’s two most dominant relievers to significantly reshape a bullpen that was their leading weakness last season — for a (relative) pittance. They dealt the underperforming Heilman, who could benefit from a change of scenery; a right-handed specialist in Smith; a reserve outfielder in Chávez; and a first-base prospect in Carp who had been passed by Daniel Murphy in the organizational hierarchy.

Heilman, a dominant setup man during the Mets’ playoff run in 2006, symbolized their bullpen problems last season. He struggled from the outset and never found his rhythm, allowing 10 homers and posting a career-high earned run average as a reliever, 5.21. Chávez, who will forever be adored by Mets fans for his spectacular catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, had trouble consistently cracking the outfield rotation despite an abundance of injuries to Mets outfielders.

Since Billy Wagner’s absence in parts of the past two seasons exposed their lack of late-inning depth, the Mets have been seeking another reliever who has closing experience and would not feel unappreciated by assuming a less-glamorous — but just as vital — role. The team feels that Putz, who recorded 76 saves in 2006-7 before being limited by injuries last season, would thrive in that spot. Minaya spoke with Putz on Wednesday night and said Putz sounded excited.

The addition of Putz, who is owed $5.5 million next season, would also allow the Mets to occasionally rest Rodríguez, who is coming off a strenuous season in which he recorded 62 saves to set the single-season record and, in a rarity for a closer, led the A.L. with 76 appearances.

“To get one closer like Frankie would have been a good winter,” Minaya said of Rodríguez. “I think to get two guys like this is a great winter.”

In his first two seasons in the majors, Putz worked mostly as a setup reliever. He lowered his E.R.A. to 3.60 from 4.71, but it was not until he assumed the closer’s role in 2006 that he began to excel. That season, he struck out 104 batters in 78 1/3 innings, posting a 2.30 E.R.A. and 36 saves.

In 2007, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Putz was perhaps the best closer in baseball, allowing 37 hits in 71 2/3 innings while saving 40 games and posting the lowest E.R.A. (1.38) among major league relievers. Last season, though, he struggled with injuries, starting with a rib-cage injury in April that sent him to the disabled list. He also spent time on the disabled list over the summer with a hyperextended right elbow, and finished the year with 15 saves and a 3.88 E.R.A.

Moving forward, the Mets planned to meet with Scott Boras, who represents Derek Lowe and Oliver Pérez, but believe their financial commitment to Rodríguez has taken them out of the bidding for Lowe. Pérez, though, remains a possibility, especially if the Yankees look elsewhere.

The Mets are wary of giving Pérez a four-year deal, but remain interested in re-signing him. They are open to letting Jon Niese and potentially Bobby Parnell compete for the No. 5 starter’s job, but could bring in another established veteran to push them. Minaya also expects to speak with Fern Cuza, the agent for Pedro Martínez, but Martínez’s return appears to be a long shot.

As soon as he learned that Wagner would be unavailable in 2009, Minaya zeroed in on the free-agent closers, making Rodríguez a priority because of his combination of age (27 on opening day) and results (208 career saves).

“I think he has a good mind-set for pitching there,” Minaya said, referring to New York. “I think he wanted to be there, the challenge to be there. He’s been in a big market like Anaheim and New York. He likes the adrenaline of being there.”

Paul Kinzer, Rodríguez’s agent, said he tried impressing that point on Minaya during negotiations — that Rodríguez could benefit from pitching on a grand stage. Those negotiations, Kinzer said Wednesday, took an interesting turn Sunday night. During a dinner meeting that initiated their sincere interest, Johan Santana, apparently unaware the team was meeting with Rodríguez, called the Mets. Minaya passed the phone to Rodríguez, who was delighted to hear a recruiting pitch from Santana, his Venezuelan compatriot.

Like Santana, Rodríguez, who will wear No. 75 — the inverse of his former number — was present for the final few hours as the sides eventually completed the terms at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. The Mets wanted to finish the deal quickly because Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer, planned to board his private jet back to New York for an 8 a.m. flight. Soon after, Rodríguez followed. And now Putz will join him, another piece in the Mets’ off-season makeover.