Meet The Ex-Marlins

The Mets yesterday acquired corner infielder/outfielder Jeff Conine from the Cincinnatti Reds, in exchange for single-A shortstop Jose Castro and single-A outfielder Sean Henry.

How could Omar say no to that face?

In addition to giving the Mets a playoff-tested veteran with two World Series rings, the move pushes the number of former Florida Marlins on the team to 8.

Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota, Luis Castillo, Ramon Castro, Moises Alou, Damion Easley and Conine all played for the Marlins at some point between 1997 and 2005. Let me know if I'm leaving anyone out.

Conine is 41 and will probably retire after this season, but in the meantime gives the Amazins a much-needed righty bat off the bench to replace the most-likely-out-for-the-season-with-a-gnarly-high-ankle-sprain Easley. Conine's aforementioned playoff experience should be a tremendous asset, and it appears that he'll take over the Julio Franco role - the savvy and sagely veteran reserve/clubhouse leader - except you might be able to count on him to actually do these things and hit the ball, too.

When Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro return from their respective injuries, the Mets will have a bench of Conine, Marlon Anderson, Castro, Ruben Gotay, and either Lastings Milledge or Shawn Green, depending on who starts in right field. Disabled supersub Endy Chavez, who is expected back by the end of the week, will soon be thrown into that mix as well, presumably forcing the Mets into a decison on what to do with Green. Marlon Anderson is clearly a much better reserve, and given the play of Milledge, (.306 with 19 RBI in a not-quite full time role since the all-star break) contrasted with the lackluster productivity of Green (Green has 19 RBIs since May 1) Willie Randolph might be forced to say goodbye to another beloved, underperforming veteran.

Sayonara, Hebrew Hammer?

At the very least the bench will be a far cry from the late June/early July crop of Mets reserves, headlined by Ricky Ledee and the venerable old man Franco. Despite the absence of any blockbuster moves and the lack of reasonably-priced bullpen arms available at the trading deadline, I think it's safe to say that Omar Minaya's done some effective mid-season tinkering.

And despite my negative premonitions, the Mets did actually manage to close out a sweep of Washington this weekend, scoring 6 times in the 8th and 9th on Sunday en route to an 8-2, player of the week honors for Carlos Beltran-earning victory. I'll be at the game tonight if it's not rained out.

(Photos courtesy allposters.com, sfgate.com)