Mets ready to shop, spend on open market

NEW YORK -- Beginning at any point after midnight ET Friday, the widely held but unfounded notion that the Mets are unwilling to invest in expensive free agents may take a few more hits. When the free-agent filing period ends at midnight, the Mets and 29 other Holliday shoppers will be free to launch their pursuit of Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey and any other of the more than 300 free agents -- Minor League players included.

Given the holes in their big league roster and the desire to interrupt the decline that began after their 2006 postseason ended prematurely, the Mets can be expected to pursue and, within reason, compete for the talent available in what is not considered a particularly deep pool of players. Holliday, characterized -- or overstated -- as comparable to Mark Teixeira by his agent Scott Boras, is the highest-profile player available, and he may emerge from the process with the highest set of salaries.

But with economy yet to show its influences and the Yankees seemingly not inclined to pursue Holliday, the cost of doing business is an unknown at this point. The Mets, who paid more in payroll than any other National League team while enduring a dreadful season in 2009, have resources and ownership that rarely has restricted general manager Omar Minaya. And Minaya has the word of COO Jeff Wilpon that the club will provide "what Omar needs" to reinforce the roster.

So now the talk-show callers and out-of-loop bloggers can watch. The Mets may not sign any of the players that the public has deemed "must-haves." But they will continue to do what they have done since Minaya took charge in late 2004: seek the players who fit their needs and pay handsomely for them. Two years ago, the Mets identified their greatest need as a No. 1 starting pitcher, and they imported Johan Santana for more than they had planned -- $137.5 million. Last year, with their bullpen in need of a closer, they obligated themselves to pay $36 million for Frankie Rodriguez.

Before those acquisitions, they brought in Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltran as free agents and traded for Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo. So since the end of the 2004 season, they have committed themselves to $470 million for those players alone.

And yet, the airwaves and cyberspace carry comments that portray the Mets as unwilling to spend.

Money isn't everything at this time of year in baseball, but it is pretty much what matters most. Unless free agents are basing their immediate professional futures on the quality of public school systems of the markets of the clubs pursuing them (see Mike Hampton, 2000) or some acquired apprehension about big city newspapering (see Barry Zito, 2007), money is the currency of the hour.

So even if the Mets don't sign Holliday, Bay or Lackey, they will spend.

Their needs are, in order of importance, power, at least one starting pitcher, a catcher and a setup reliever. Chances are remote that they could fill more than their needs via trading. The Mets lack attractive personnel they can afford to deal. Most trades advocated by the public are pie in the sky or they would create other holes. So the market is where the club must look.

The most likely need to be addressed via free agency is catching. Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas are available, and the Mets have their eyes on both. Barajas is younger and has more power. Molina has been a productive hitter with the Giants, but his thick body is 35. And if he is seeking more than one year, the Mets are likely to turn their pursuit to Barajas exclusively or once again consider Yorvit Torrealba.

They are certain to find competition in the pursuit of a free-agent starting pitcher, whether they focus on Lackey, the pitching prize in this market; Jason Marquis, the Mets wannabe; or Joel Pineiro, a budding Mets nemesis. The same scenario will exist if they pursue Holliday or Bay. Neither outfielder is ideally suited for Citi Field. Some of Holliday's power directs the ball to right-center field, something of a death valley at Citi. And neither is equipped to provide the level of defense the Mets want in their spacious left field.