The Mets have signed 33-year old righty swinging catcher Michael Barrett to a minor league deal. Barrett played in 7 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 3 of 18 (.167 avg, .544 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Barrett has played in 1,054 games in his 12 years in the majors and he is 925 of 3,512 (.263 avg, .742 OPS) with 398 runs scored, 98 homers and 424 RBIs. It never hurts to stash a guy like Barrett at AAA to see if he has anything left.

35-year old righty starting pitcher R.A. Dickey has been outstanding so far this season for the Mets. The knuckleballer has started 7 games for the Mets so far this season and he is 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has only given up 46 hits in 46 1/3 innings this season while whiffing 35 batters. Dickey is also throwing a lot of strikes as he has only walked 14 batters this season showing that he might finally really have a grasp on the knuckleball. Dickey came into this season pitching in 144 games (48 starts) in the majors in which he is 22-28 with 2 saves, a 5.43 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Mets hope that Dickey’s success will continue and that it isn’t a mirage.

The Mets have sent 25-year old righty reliever/starter Clint Everts to the Blue Jays to complete the Jorge Padilla trade. Everts pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AA-ball for the Mets this season and he was 3-1 with 2 saves, a 6.94 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has now pitched in 217 games (76 starts) in his 8 years in the minors and he is 35-40 with 15 saves, a 4.16 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Everts has yet to pitch in the majors so I think the Mets got the better end of this deal as they might need Padilla at some point this year.

The Mets have signed 37-year old righty starter/reliever Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal. Ortiz pitched in 16 games (2 starts) for the Dodgers earlier this season and he was 1-2 with a 6.30 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. He has now pitched in 274 games (212 starts) in his major league career and he is 85-82 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. If Ortiz pitches well in AAA the Mets will likely give him another shot at pitching in the majors at some point in 2010.

The Mets have sent 20-year old righty reliever Jenrry Mejia to AA to get back to starting. He has pitched in 30 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this season and he is 0-2 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Mejia did have some issues with control as he walked 15 batters in only 27 2/3 innings for the Mets this season. Mejia was the Mets’ #1 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. In his first three years in the minors he pitched in 47 games (40 starts) in which he was 11-11 with 1 save, a 2.91 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He only has given up 160 hits in 210 innings pitched in the minors with 205 whiffs. If Mejia builds his arm up and he’s looking good the Mets will no doubt be calling him back up at some point in 2010.