MET NOTES
MIAMI – The Mets will make a pitch for their former lefthander Allen Watson. GM Steve Phillips said yesterday he was planning to call Watson’s agent Tony Giordano to try to work something out.
Watson, who was traded to Seattle two weeks ago for Makato Suzuki and a player to be named later, was unexpectedly released by Seattle, cleared waivers yesterday and is a free agent.
“We’ll talk to him,” Phillips said before last night’s 12-8 rain-soaked victory over the Marlins. “We would consider doing something.”
Phillips acknowledged that they wanted to sign Watson as an insurance policy, but did not say against what. The thinking is that Bobby Jones, who has a slightly torn right rotator cuff tendon, might not be able to come back as they would like and that Octavio Dotel, who was inconsistent in the Mets’ victory last night, might not be the answer either.
The Mets would like to sign Watson to a minor league contract and then keep him in Norfolk until they find out what the deal is with Dotel and Jones. But Watson, who was 1-2 with a 3.54 ERA in four starts for the Mets, would more likely be interested in another team if he had assurances he could start.
If the Mets do get him, it would be similar to last year’s situation when they traded Greg McMichael to Los Angeles June 5 and then reacquired him in a trade July 10.
It may sound strange for a team to sign back a player they traded away, but circumstances change in short periods of time. That trade was about getting rid of salary, not acquiring Suzuki, who was claimed by the Royals on the waiver wire shortly after the trade. The Mets would love to re-sign Watson at a low figure while the Marlins pay the bulk of his current contract – which he signed with the Mets. Edgardo Alfonzo’s wife Delia is due to give birth to their second child today, which means Alfonzo could miss one or two games in the Braves series. The team policy says players can miss two games for childbirths.
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The pitching matchups for the Braves series: Tonight, Greg Maddux (7-5, 3.87) vs. Masato Yoshii (6-6, 4.50); tomorrow, Kevin Millwood (9-4, 3.56) vs. Al Leiter (7-5, 5.04); Sunday, John Smoltz (8-2, 3.03) vs. Orel Hershiser (8-5, 4.48).
Smoltz left his last game with a tender elbow. If he doesn’t pitch, the Braves will either call up Bruce Chen from Triple-A Richmond or go with Mike Remlinger.
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The Mets went 7-5 against Florida last season and finished 10-3 this year after taking three of the four games here to end the season series … The Mets are not eager to trade for Florida righthander Livan Hernandez, but it hasn’t been ruled out.
