The Mets have placed 31-year old righty swinging LF Jason Bay on the 15-day disabled list with a concussion. Bay has played in 95 games this season for the Mets and he is 90 of 348 (.259 avg, .749 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 6 homers, 47 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Mets have recalled 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jesus Feliciano to replace Bay on the active roster. Feliciano has played in 21 games earlier this season for the Mets and he was 16 of 55 (.291 avg, .667 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Angel Pagan will likely shift from RF to LF while Bay is out of action. That will likely put Jeff Francoeur back into the starting lineup in RF for the Mets.

The Mets have traded 30-year old lefty swinging 1B Mike Jacobs to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. Jacobs has played in 86 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 88 of 339 (.260 avg, .791 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 15 homers and 57 RBIs. He also played in 7 games earlier this season for the Mets and he was 5 of 24 (.208 avg, .671 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. The Mets didn’t have any future plans involving Jacobs so this will likely turn out to be a decent trade for them depending on what the Blue Jays send them.

The Mets have placed 34-year old starting catcher Rod Barajas on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. Barajas has played in 73 games for the Mets this year and he is 56 of 246 (.228 avg, .685 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 12 homers and 34 RBIs. 23-year old lefty swinging rookie Josh Thole will likely take over as the starting catcher while Barajas is out of action. Thole has played in 18 games for the Mets so far this season and he is 13 of 31 (.419 avg, 1.048 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. The Mets have recalled 32-year old righty swinging 1B/3B/OF Mike Hessman to replace Barajas on the active roster. Hessman has played in 65 games in rookie+AAA-ball this year and he is 70 of 252 (.278 avg, .925 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 18 homers and 58 RBIs. He has 329 career homers in the minors over 15 seasons there. Hessman has also played in 77 games in parts of four years in the majors and he is 35 of 168 (.208 avg, .752 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 13 homers and 27 RBIs. The Mets are saying that they are going to play Hessman quite a bit while Barajas is out of action but I find that hard to believe.

Carlos Beltran has just returned from the D.L. and he’s such a huge part of the Mets that they could have really missed him. But, 28-year old switch hitting Angel Pagan replaced him in CF while he was out of action and now he’s moving over to RF. Pagan has been a godsend for the Mets this year. He has played in 89 games for the Mets this year and he is 102 of 333 (.306 avg, .833 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 8 homers, 44 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Pagan is playing the best ball of his major league career as it appears that all he really needed was a chance to show what he could do and he’s rewarding the Mets for that opportunity.

The Mets have lost 29-year old righty starting pitcher John Maine for the season due to surgery to clean out scar tissue in his right shoulder. Maine only pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Mets this year and he was 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. In his seven years with the Mets, Maine has pitched in 97 games (96 starts) in which he is 39-32 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Mets were depending on Maine to be one of their top starters this season so it’s kind of a surprise to see them still contending for the playoffs. Rumors have it that the Mets won’t tender a contract to Maine over the winter ending his time in New York and making him a free agent.

With Carlos Beltran back in action the Mets are shifting Angel Pagan to RF. That leaves 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Jeff Francoeur on the bench. Francoeur has played in 92 games for the Mets this season and he is 76 of 308 (.247 avg, .677 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 8 homers, 42 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Mets are going to try to trade Francoeur because he will likely mope sitting on the bench. If not by July 31st, then some time in August the Mets will try to deal Francoeur. Despite his age, I don’t think the Mets will get a big haul in return for him.

The Mets have designated 28-year old righty reliever Fernando Nieve for assignment. Nieve pitched in 40 games (1 start) for the Mets this year and he was 2-4 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He pitched in 48 games (8 starts) in his two years with the Mets and he was 5-7 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Mets have recalled 29-year old righty reliever Manny Acosta to replace Nieve in the bullpen. Acosta pitched in 12 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Mets and he was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Acosta also has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 2-3 with 5 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Mets think that Acosta will pitch better than Nieve did for them and I think they are definitely right.

The Mets have signed 28-year old righty reliever Chad Cordero to a minor league deal. Cordero pitched in 9 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Mariners and he was 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has now pitched in 314 games (0 starts) in his seven years in the majors and he is 20-15 with 128 saves, a 2.89 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. This was a low risk/high reward signing for the Mets who can just cut him if they don’t like what they see.

The biggest need on the Mets is starting pitching. With that in mind I would go after Jake Westbrook with the idea of the Indians paying him the rest of the year. For that I would give up 20-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Allen, 25-year old righty reliever Bobby Parnell and 20-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Ruben Tejada. Then remembering that the Mets aren’t in the best financial situation right now I would try to make a couple of minor deals. I really like infielder Jeff Keppinger of the Astros and I would be willing to part with 25-year old righty reliever Tobi Stoner to get him. I think the Astros would make that deal. Keppinger then could battle Luis Castillo for the 2B job while backing up at SS and 3B. The Brewers are dangling righty reliever Carlos Villanueva in the trade market and I think he would be a good fit for the Mets. The Brewers would probably take 23-year old lefty swinging 2B/SS Jordany Valdespin and 25-year old infielder Justin Turner for him. So if I were the Mets’ GM I would try to bring in Jake Westbrook, Jeff Keppinger and Carlos Villanueva. Those aren’t sexy names on the trade market but they would make the Mets a better team without a doubt.

29-year old lefty reliever Mike O’Connor has really been pitching pretty good ball in AAA for the Mets this year. He has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 0-1 with 2 saves, a 2.82 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. O’Connor has whiffed 37 batters in 38 1/3 innings so he has been looking sharp. If the need arises for a lefty reliever and O’Connor continues to pitch well look for him to get a call to the majors.