No New Pitchers in Mets Future

Despite the fact that the Mets pitching corps is a mess, don’t expect to see any new hurlers on the team any time soon.

Many people were betting the Mets would go out and trade for a starter, what with Johan Santana allegedly not in “pitching shape,” and Shaun Marcum far behind where he should be at this point in the spring. However, a “team insider” tells the Daily News that the Mets are not in the market for a starter.

Instead, Jeremy Hefner is expected to get the call if Santana is unable to start the season with the team. What happens if Marcum is also not ready? Um, well, no plan there.

There are plenty of starters available. The Dodgers, for example, have around 27 starting pitchers. They are reportedly looking to deal Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly or Chris Capuano. I say absolutely not on Capuano — I hated him during his one sub par season with the Mets. Ted Lilly makes far too much money ($12 million). But I have always liked Harang and wouldn’t mind seeing him on the mound at Citi Field. He is making $7 million in 2013. I’ll bet the deep-pocketed Dodgers owner would pay part of that to get rid of him.

Chien-Ming Wang is drawing interest based on his performance thus far in the World Baseball Classic. I am unsure about him; he had the same shoulder surgery as Santana, and we all know how that is working out. Best to stay away from him.

As with the Mets outfield, we are going to have to live with the pitchers that we’ve got. I fear this is going to be a long, long season.