January 17, 2007

No room for Milledge

Patrick Hickey, Jr. at NY Sports Day, writes about Lasting Milledge and how there is no room for him on the Mets:

The additions of Johnson, Easley and Newhan may also give the Mets an opportunity to deal Lastings Milledge, whose weekend in Fenway last summer proved to be enough for most fans in Flushing. Currently ranked among the top ten prospects in the game, dealing Milledge could possibly nab New York a number four or five starter to help cement a rotation that is currently facing a myriad of concern. Also considering the fact that the organization seems to think Carlos Gomez may be the next big time outfielder to come out of the organization, it's easy to conclude that Milledge may not be in Queens much longer.

Even if Milledge wound up making the team out of spring training, it would be hard to find playing time for the youngster with the likes of Shawn Green, Carlos Beltran and Alou patrolling the outfield and the uber dependable Chavez on the bench. If the Mets do decide to carry five outfielders, it would be someone more like Johnson, who seems to have more poise and power than Milledge, or the left-handed hitting Newhan, who has better than average speed and has played every infield position in his career, in addition to the outfield.

Either way you think about it, it seems almost obvious that Milledge isn't going to figure in any plans the team has for this season and with the Mets still looking for a way to bolster their starting rotation, a deal almost imminent at this point.

The only question is who can Omar Minaya get for Milledge?

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