Mets looking at a few veteran starting pitchers

The Mets have been looking at several veteran starting pitchers over the last few days to fill in the void left by R.A. Dickey. Now that Dickey is in Toronto, the rotation is obviously weaker, and Alderson is going to have to sign a few innings-eater options to fill out the back of the rotation. According to reports, he has been looking at Joe Saunders, Carl Pavano, and Shaun Marcum. Those obviously aren't the names that we want to hear, but given the financial constraints that Alderson currently has, I suppose they will work for now.

Saunders, in my opinion, would be a great pickup because he is durable, and would probably take a one year deal. He is a crafty left handed pitcher who would probably slide into the 4th spot in the rotation, and I would expect him to cost $4-5 million on a one year deal. He had quite a bit of post-season success with Baltimore last year, so Alderson could ship him to a contender at the deadline like the Diamondbacks did in the summer. 

Pavano is a name that I would certainly stay away from, even though he has been an innings-eater for most of his career. Lately he has had trouble staying healthy, and is a pitcher that throws to contact, which is something to stay away from. He wouldn't cost much, but his inconsistency would kill him in New York. I expect him to get a minor league deal from someone, just not the Mets.

As for Marcum, he would actually he a low-risk, high reward signing. We all know that he can pitch like an ace when healthy, but the problem is he's always on the disabled list with an elbow or shoulder injury. His health history is shaky, so he may take a one year, incentive-based deal to boost up his value. I would imagine that the Brewers would like him back, so they could perhaps outbid the Mets, but he is certainly a name that I'd consider bringing in.

I fully expect Alderson to use the remaining money that he has available on a starting pitcher (or two), and an outfielder. There is always the possibility of bringing in a Chris Young-type player on another one year deal, and I believe that that route is the right one to go down. Bring in low risk players, and ship him off at the deadline.