No Bull...Stearns Decimates the Pen

We all saw this coming, but that doesn't make it any easier to stomach. The dismantling of the Mets' bullpen -- perhaps their lone strength in this dismal season -- continued this morning, as Huascar Brazoban and Brooks Raley followed A.J. Minter out the bullpen door.

Brazoban went to the White Sox, who gave the Mets two so-so prospects (and I guess they insisted no backsies on Luis Robert Jr.). Interesting, given that only two years ago, the Chisox broke the Mets' record for most losses in a season. Now they are trying to improve for a stretch run. Raley is packing his equipment and heading to...the hated Phillies? A division rival?

The Raley move makes sense, and really doesn't hurt the Mets, since he has an expiring contract and the Flushing nine aren't challenging anyone this year. Might as well help the opposition when it doesn't affect you.

But we have some issues with the Brazoban move, since he is under team control for the next three years. People are justifying that by saying Brazoban's age diminishes the last few years of the contract; the counterbalance is that if you are planning to contend next year, why not hold onto a bullpen piece who, after a shaky start when the Mets first acquired him from the Marlins, proved he could handle being-in-New-York-heightened pressure situations?

At any rate, David Stearns has now purged the roster of anyone who gave Mets fans hope in the middle innings, replacing them on the payroll (if not the major league roster) with a collection of players who have struggled this year in the minor leagues.

For Brazoban, the Mets got two pitchers, Zach Franklin and Gabe Davis. Of the two, Davis is considered the better prospect, but on paper, his three major pluses seem to be that he is six-foot-nine, a former college teammate of Carson Benge and Nolan McLean and can hit 100 MPH on the radar gun. Drafted in the fifth round last year, he has struggled AA, going 0-5 with an 8.31 ERA in 10 starts.

Franklin has been pitching at AAA Charlotte, and conceivably could make it to Citi Field this year. He has a good strikeout ratio: 60 in 45 innings, but has also given up 11 home runs and batters have a .764 OBP against him.

From the Phillies, the Mets get a right-handed pitcher, Luke Gabrysh, and a switch-hitting outfielder, John Spikerman. Gabrysh, a starter, has a 5.14 ERA in high-A ball this year, almost a run per game higher than pitching at the same level last year.

Spikerman is perhaps the most intriguing of the four players the Mets obtained today. He can field. He can thrown. He can run and steal. He can get on base -- he has a .419 OBP at high-A this year. While he hasn't shown much power, he has shown progress in cutting down his swing and making better contact.

The knock on Spikerman? He gets hurt. He missed two months of his freshman season at Oklahoma with injuries, broke his hamate during his junior year and was limited to 62 games in his first full season of pro ball last year because of a shoulder injury. Scouts project him at at least as a backup outfielder, with a greater role if he can continue to hone his batting skills.

Brazoban got his handshakes yesterday in the bullpen, jumping the gun on the trade. Maybe Raley got his well-wishes in the clubhouse afterward. Both will be missed, especially if their replacements evoke memories of Mel Rojas and Ryan Hellsley more than the bullpen that gave you hope. And it will take at least a couple of years to see if any of the players pan out, or if they are this year's version of Luisangel Acuna.