By Jared TrexlerThe Philadelphia Phillies' chances to win the National League East increased Thursday when the San Francisco Giants landed star southpaw Barry Zito, signing him to a seven-year, $126 million dollar contract.
The Giants' gain is the Mets' loss, as the defending NL East champions will be without Pedro Martinez until at least midseason, relying instead on an aging lefty (Tom Glavine), a soft-tossing right-hander (Orlando Hernandez) and a group of unknowns (John Maine, Orlando Perez).
The free-agent miss may put the Mets in the market for right-hander Jeff Weaver, who contributed to New York's playoff exit last season while pitching for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
No matter what happens from here on out, the Mets staff will not stack up to Philadelphia's rotation on Opening Day.
The Texas Rangers also missed out on Zito, meaning their interest may peak in Jon Lieber. We all know how comfortable GM Pat Gillick is dealing with Jon Daniels.
In all, the Zito signing strengthens an aging Giants roster, but still doesn't make them better than the Phillies. It weakens the Mets' chances of repeating, placing emphasis on the remainder of the offseason and setting up a division race to remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment