Picking apart the Putz deal

Naturally, there’s been a lot written about the Seattle/Cleveland/Mets deal, and I can’t do better than Keith Law’s overview. The bottom line for Mets’ fans is that they acquired a great ‘nother closer in Putz (if healthy, he’s better than K-Rod) and it may be that the key player they traded away was minor league pitcher Maikel Cleto.

The two-closer approach (one in the eighth, one in the ninth) is one that all rich teams should be pursuing given the way bullpens are managed these days. It’s one of the best ways to leverage their wealth. Small-market teams should be pursuing less expensive ways to manage their relievers.