J.J. Putz's Stay in New York Could Be Short

When J.J. Putz was first traded to the Mets, there was some noise about him being unhappy pitching in a setup role. That's and understandable reaction considering how dominant he's been as a closer in the past, if not an entirely rational one since setting up for Francisco Rodriguez in New York gives him a much better chance at winning than closing in Seattle does.

Nevertheless, Putz could get another shot at closing as soon as 2010 writes John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Putz, who gets $5.5 million this year, is due to get $9.1 million next year under a club option.

Even a free-spending team like the Mets might balk at paying that much for someone to perform setup work, and speculation already is rising before Putz has ever thrown a pitch for New York that the club might not pick up the hefty option for 2010.

Look, 2010 is a long way off. Putz could get hurt again, in which case the Mets definitely will not pick up his option, or K-Rod's violent pitching motion could finally result in an injury, in which case they almost certainly would pick it up. The Mets could be hurt by the downturn in the economy and the Wilpons' link to a major fraud case or shiny new Citi Field could become an enormous windfall for the club.

There are simply too many unforeseen variables that could have an impact on the decision to pick up Putz's option between now and next offseason. But if things stay roughly the same between now and then, and he's as dominant as they expect him to be, well, it's a little hard to see the Mets being scared off by a couple million dollars, especially if it means keeping the K-Rod-Putz tandem intact.