The Mets have designated 27-year old lefty reliever Arturo Lopez for assignment to make room on the roster for Rod Barajas. Lopez pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Padres and he was 0-0 with a 19.29 ERA and a 4.29 WHIP. He also pitched in 35 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 0-2 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This is no loss to the Mets.

The Mets have signed 31-year old switch hitting shortstop Alex Cintron to a minor league deal. Cintron played in 21 games for the Nationals last season and he was 2 for 26 (.077 avg, .220 OPS) with 1 run scored. He has now played in 680 games in his major league career and he is 565 for 2,056 (.275 avg, .707 OPS) with 244 runs scored, 33 homers, 222 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. The Mets continue to stockpile middle infielders for the 2010 season.

The Mets have signed 34-year old righty swinging Rod Barajas to a 1-year deal worth $1 million bucks with an additional $1 million bucks that can be earned with easy incentive bonuses. Barajas played in 125 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 97 for 429 (.226 avg, .661 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 19 homers and 71 RBIs. Barajas has now played in 813 games in his major league career and he is 601 for 2,521 (.238 avg, .691 OPS) with 299 runs scored, 92 homers and 355 RBIs. Barajas will likely share the catcher job with Henry Blanco for the Mets in 2010.

27-year old righty swinging David Wright had a off year power wise but he still played well in 2009. Wright played in 144 games for the Mets last season and he was 164 for 535 (.307 avg, .837 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 10 homers, 72 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. I think his production numbers were way down last season because of the injuries to Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes not because of Citi Field. The Mets need Wright to get back to his production from 2005-2008 when he averaged 105.8 runs scored, 29 homers, 112.3 RBIs and 21.5 stolen bases per season. Wright made 18 errors in 142 games at 3B for the Mets last season while showing slightly below average range.

If anything were to happen to David Wright the Mets would likely slide 35-year old righty swinging Fernando Tatis over from 1B. He played in 27 games for the Mets last season and he made 2 errors while showing outstanding range. He is a natural 3B.

34-year old lefty swinging Alex Cora and 27-year old switch hitting Anderson Hernandez could play 3B in a pinch but neither of them have the bat for the job.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A

26-year old switch hitting shorstop Jose Reyes is a big key to the Mets in 2010. He only played in 36 games for the Mets last season and he was 41 for 147 (.279 avg, .750 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Mets need Reyes to stay healthy all year and produce like he did from 2005-2008 when he averaged 113.3 runs scored, 13.5 homers, 66 RBIs and 64.5 stolen bases per season. Reyes made 5 errors in 35 games at SS for the Mets last season but he showed below average range likely because of his hamstring problem. Look for him to rebound both with the bat and the mitt in 2010 for the Mets.

34-year old lefty swinging Alex Cora will be the Mets’ top backup at SS in 2010. He played in 82 games for the Mets last season and he was 68 for 271 (.251 avg, .630 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Cora played in 56 games at SS for the Mets last season and he made 6 errors there while showing outstanding range. The Mets hope they don’t have to play Cora as much in 2010 as they had to in 2009.

27-year old switch hitting Anderson Hernandez will be the #3 SS for the Mets in 2010. He played in 38 games at SS last season and he made 6 errors while showing pretty poor range there.

29-year old lefty swinging Russ Adams will provide some depth at AAA for the Mets in 2010. Adams played in 8 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 4 for 20 (.200 avg, .438 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He has 286 games of major league experience with a career batting average of .247 with a .685 OPS. Adams also played in 60 games in AAA ball last season and he was 59 for 207 (.285 avg, .754 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Adams didn’t play any games at SS for the Jays in 2009 but it’s his natural position.

25-year old switch hitting Luis Hernandez will also likely start the year in AAA. He played in 37 games for the Royals last season and he was 15 for 73 (.205 avg, .475 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Hernandez also played in 55 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 60 for 198 (.303 avg, .725 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Hernandez is pretty slick with the mitt as he only made 1 error in 23 games at SS for the Royals last season while showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: A