Livan Declines Arbitration

From Ed Ryan at Mets Fever (Network Member):

There was a slim chance that Livan Hernandez would accept arbitration and stay with the D-Backs for one more year. In fact the D-Backs were reported to be willing to have him back on a one year contract, but that discussion came to an end last night with Livan declining arbitration. The East Valley Tribune reporting on Hernandez's immediately links the Mets to him, reciting his history with Omar and his desire to pitch with his brother.

If Livan is signed he basically had the same numbers as Glavine and would give the club the flexibility to make a trade. A big name pitcher may cost Maine or Perez and Pelfrey or Humber, Livan would fill out the bottom of the rotation while allowing the next generation of pitchers to develop (Mulvey- Guerra).

Durability was Hernandez’s best feature in his only full season with the D-Backs, when he was 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA in 2007 while pitching 204 1/3 innings, the 15th most in the NL.Hernandez made 19 quality starts but gave up an NL-high 247 hits. His style of pitching around certain hitters to get to others was evident in his 1.60 ratio of hits and walks to innings pitched, the third-worst ratio in the league. source East Valley Tribune