NEW YORK METS

Starting Lineup
SS Jose Reyes: one of the best in the game and still only 25
LF Daniel Murphy: likely to share time with Fernando Tatis in LF but proved he could hit in his rookie season (.313 BA, .397 OBP in 131 AB's) UPDATE 2/22: Manager Jerry Manuel says the LF job is Murphy's so Tatis will likely get AB's in RF against LHP's UPDATE 3/22 - Manuel is leaning towards batting Murphy 2nd with Castillo in the # 8 hole
3B David Wright: one of the top five players in the game and still only 26
1B Carlos Delgado: hit 38 HR's, the seventh time in his career he's hit at least that many, and knocked in 115 runs UPDATE 3/27 - penciled in as the #4 hitter
CF Carlos Beltran: the 31 year-old is coming off of another huge season (27 HR, 112 RBI, 40 2B's, 25 SB, 116 R)
RF Ryan Church: debut season in NY started out well (.307 BA, 10 HR in first half) but injury-marred second half (.219, 2 HR in 33 games) was a disappointment ; likely to split time in RF with Tatis UPDATE 4/4 - will continue to start in RF, at least during the first series of the season
C Brian Schneider: like Church, the other acquisition from Washington, Schneider missed a lot of time with injuries but did throw out an impressive 50% of attempted base stealers
2B Luis Castillo: Mets would love to unload him and some of his contract somewhere but it looks like they might be stuck with the 3-time All-Star, coming off of his worst season in 10 years

Bench
C Ramon Castro: has 30 HR's in 612 AB's over 4 seasons with NY
IF Alex Cora: will take AB's from Castillo at 2B if he struggles again and can also backup SS and 3B
OF Fernando Tatis : should play against lefties, spelling Murphy and Church, and can also back up Delgado at 1B
OF Jeremy Reed: acquisition from Seattle can play all three outfield spots but hasn't done much with the bat in parts of five major league seasons (.257 BA, 11 HR's in 1061 AB's) UPDATE 3/6 - has been very impressive, according to Manager Jerry Manuel
OF Marlon Anderson: veteran will have to beat out Jeremy Reed and Andres Pagan, who are more versatile defensively UPDATE 3/6 - showing that he still has something left in the tank UPDATE 3/29 - looks like the plan is for Anderson to make the opening day roster UPDATE 4/3 - Sheffield signing could be bad news for Anderson UPDATE 4/5 - roster is spot is safe; he'll be on the opening day roster
OF Gary Sheffield: entering his 22nd ML season just one HR shy of 500, the 40 year-old veteran is no longer the feared hitter he once was UPDATE 3/31 - the Tigers have released Sheffield UPDATE 4/3 - agrees to a contract; likely to play take AB's away from Ryan Church in RF and could also spell Murphy on occasion

Starting Rotation
LHP Johan Santana: 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA and a career-high 234.1 IP in his first NL season
LHP Oliver Perez: inconsistent but is 25-17 with a 3.91 ERA over the past two seasons with the Mets
RHP John Maine: Not as good in 2008 as he was in '07, although he battled a shoulder problem that required post-season surgery
RHP Mike Pelfrey: breakthrough season in 2008 for the 24 year-old, winning 13 games with a 3.72 ERA and 200.2 IP.

Bullpen
RHP Francisco Rodriguez: the single-season save leader is now closing games for the Mets
RHP J.J. Putz: the Mets had no closer after Wagner went down last season, now they have one for the 9th inning and one for the 8th inning with Putz
LHP Pedro Feliciano: pitched in 83 games but only logged 53.1 IP as a very good situational lefty (.210 BAA vs lefties)
RHP Sean Green: another acquisition in the Putz deal, the 29 year-old is a workhorse who has pretty good stuff
RHP Bobby Parnell: hard-throwing 24 year-old might be best suited for a setup role in the near future but has mostly been a starter in the minors
RHP Darren O'Day: rule V draft pick from Anaheim has battled a shoulder injury and could miss the '09 season, which would allow the Mets to keep him on the roster and hold onto his rights UPDATE 3/10 - healthy and in the mix for a bullpen spot; has allowed just 1 run on 6 hits in 6 IP this spring UPDATE 3/13 - chances improve even more with the news that Redding will start the season on the DL
RHP Brian Stokes: did a decent job in relief for the Mets in '08 (3.51 ERA in 33.1 IP)

Disabled List
OF Angel Pagan: adds depth at all three outfield spots UPDATE 3/9 - bone spur in his elbow might require surgery UPDATE 3/10 - will have surgery; out until May
RHP Tim Redding: should have more run support on this team but his 27 HR's allowed could be a problem UPDATE 3/5 - despite the fact that he hasn't pitched yet because of offseason toe surgery, he appears to have the edge for the #5 spot because Garcia and Hernandez have been so bad UPDATE 3/10 - hurt his chances in the race for the final rotation spot after getting blasted by the U. of Michigan yesterday UPDATE 3/14 - will start the season on the DL because of shoulder fatigue

In limbo
RHP Livan Hernandez: joins a suddenly crowded group of rotation candidates; won 13 games last season with Minnesota and Colorado but posted a 6.05 ERA and allowed 257 hits in 180 IP UPDATE 2/27 - jumps out to an early lead for the 5th starter spot after first spring training outing UPDATE 3/18 - close to locking up a rotation spot UPDATE 3/20 - appears to have locked up the #5 spot after today's demotion of Niese UPDATE 3/31 - will be added to the roster in time for his first start on April 11th

Released
LHP Ron Villone: 39 year-old signed a minor league contract on 2/27; the Mets would be his 12th ML team if he makes the roster UPDATE 3/27 - released by the team
RHP Tony Armas, Jr.: showed promise back in 2002 when, as a 24 year-old, had a 12-12 record with a 4.44 ERA for the Expos but has dealt with injuries and mediocrity ever since UPDATE 3/31 - released
IF Jose Valentin: 39 year-old is just three years removed from an impressive first season with the Mets when he hit .271 with 18 HR's; he'll compete with Cora for a backup job UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors UPDATE 3/31 - granted his release

Optioned to AAA
RHP Eddie Kunz: the 22 year-old pitched four games in relief for the Mets in '08 after saving 27 games in AA with a 2.79 ERA
RHP Connor Robertson: acquired in the Scott Schoeneweis deal, the 27 year-old will battle for a middle relief job in spring training
LHP Jon Niese: 22 year-old is the team's top pitching prospect, according to BA, and had an early edge to win the #5 spot in the rotation until the club signed Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez, and Tim Redding UPDATE 3/20 - optioned to the minors
1B/OF Nick Evans: UPDATE 3/14 - having a strong spring thus far with 12 hits in 37 AB's, including 2 HR's and 8 RBI's UPDATE 3/19 - playing his way onto the opening day roster UPDATE 3/29 - appears to be the odd man out UPDATE 3/31 - looks like he'll make the opening day roster and be optioned to AAA when Hernandez is added on April 11th UPDATE 4/5 - Sheffield signing gets him optioned to AAA

Reassigned to Minor League Camp
UTL Rob Mackowiak: will have a tough time making this roster but his ability to play IF and OF will help; has hit just .165 (18-for-109) with 1 HR since being traded from the White Sox in mid-2007
LHP Casey Fossum: career 5.46 ERA in 234 ML appearances is terrible but he'll get a look in spring as a lefty out of the bullpen
RHP Matt DeSalvo: UPDATE 3/10 - 28 year-old has allowed 1 run and 3 hits in 5 IP this spring
RHP Freddy Garcia: after missing most of the last two seasons with injury, the two-time all-star will have a chance to win a spot in the Mets rotation after signing a minor league deal UPDATE 3/24 - accepted an assignment to minor league camp
RHP Nelson Figueroa: UPDATE 3/20 - along with Parnell, he is Hernandez' main competition for the #5 spot now that Niese has been optioned UPDATE 3/27 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Carlos Muniz: UPDATE 3/25 - the 28 year-old is still in the mix for a bullpen spot; he's allowed 3 ER and 3 hits in 6 IP this spring UPDATE 3/27 - reassigned to the minors
OF Cory Sullivan: former Rockie will have to beat out newcomer Jeremy Reed to be the backup CF UPDATE 3/27 - reassigned to the minors
OF Bobby Kielty: veteran hit .270 with 8 HR's in 270 AB's for Oakland back in 2006 but hasn't done much since UPDATE 3/1 - the Mets could use a right-handed bat coming off the bench on the days that Tatis starts; Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News says he appears to be a serious contender for a bench job UPDATE 3/31 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Elmer Dessens: UPDATE 3/28 - veteran is in the mix for the long relief role UPDATE 3/31 - reassigned to the minors

Rule V Pick Placed on waivers
RHP Rocky Cherry: rule V draft pick has a career 5.77 ER A in two major league seasons with the Cubs and Orioles; long shot to stick on the roster of a competitive team like the Mets UPDATE 3/17 - placed on waivers; if he goes unclaimed, he must be offered back to the Orioles (the team he was taken from in the Rule V draft) UPDATE 3/17 - Baltimore did not take him back, which will allow the Mets to retain his rights and send him to AAA