The New York Mets are trying to sew up their rotation and have added Freddy Garcia to the mix. Freddy Garcia is not going to be the answer the Mets need, and he is certainly no Derek Lowe. The main reason the Mets pulled the trigger on Garcia was the fact that he consistently gives teams over 200 innings a season. With that kind of production, Omar Minaya can consider re-signing Pedro Martinez for at least 2009.

Pedro is obviously no longer the work horse he once was, but if he can stay healthy and effective down the stretch in August, the Mets will be better off.

Garcia gives the Mets a veteran presence, and a lot of innings. While his career high of 18 wins happened nearly 8 years ago, this 34 year old still has some gas left in the tank. In addition to Garcia's ability to eat innings, his budget friendly salary also allows the Mets to concentrate on signing Oliver Perez to a multi-year deal.

Overall the Mets staff didn't increase their talent level with Freddy Garcia, but they did increase their ability to preserve the bullpen, and resign some others.