The New York Mets have dealt 34-year old switch-hitting RF Carlos Beltran and $4 million bucks to the San Francisco Giants for 21-year old righty starting pitcher Zack Wheeler. Beltran played in 98 games for the Mets this year and he was 102 for 353 (.289 avg, .904 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 15 homers, 66 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 839 games in his 7 years with the Mets and he was 878 for 3,133 (.280 avg, .869 OPS) with 551 runs scored, 149 homers, 559 RBIs and 100 stolen bases. Beltran finishes up #5 in Mets’ history in OPS with a .869 mark. He also is #8 in runs scored (551), #6 in homers (149), #6 in RBIs (559), #6 in doubles (208) and he’s #9 in walks (449) in Mets’ history. Beltran will be impossible to replace the rest of this year, as he was the second best hitter on the team behind only Jose Reyes.

The good news is that the Mets got a good prospect for Beltran. Righty starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was the Giants’ #2 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Wheeler pitched in 16 games (all starts) in A-ball this year for the Giants and he was 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 37 games (29 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 10-8 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Wheeler has only given up 121 hits in his first 146 2/3 innings this year and he has whiffed 168 batters which is pretty impressive. But, he still has work to do on his control as he has walked 85 batters so far in his minor league career and that’s way too many. Still, this was a good deal for the Mets as Wheeler should be a big part of the rebuilding down the road.

Carlos Beltran, Angel Pagan, Willie Harris, Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak could all be on the move this week. Beltran has a lot of suitors and the Mets are going to deal him to the highest bidder among the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Pirates, Diamondbacks and Giants. He is the top trade chip the Mets have available right now. CF Angel Pagan is falling out of favor with the Mets this year so they might try to deal him to a team like the Rangers, Indians or Braves who each have needs in CF. Willie Harris and Scott Hairston likely won’t bring back much for the Mets in a trade with the White Sox, Angels or Braves who are on the hunt for backup outfielders. Lefty reliever Tim Byrdak will draw a lot of interest in the trade market as not too many lefties are available right now. The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Brewers, Cardinals and Diamondbacks could use a pitcher like Byrdak. The Mets say that they are going to keep catcher Ronny Paulino, lefty starting pitcher Chris Capuano and righty reliever (closer) Jason Isringhausen. If the Mets are truly rebuilding, then they should deal that trio too for prospects.

The Mets have claimed 26-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Mike Baxter off waivers from the Padres. Baxter played in 11 games in A-ball this year for the Padres and he was 10 for 36 (.278 avg, .719 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. Baxter played in 9 games for the Padres last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 1 for 8 (.125 avg, .236 OPS) with 1 RBI. Baxter could get a shot with the Mets at some point in 2011 if he plays well in the minors for them.

The Mets have designated 25-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Nick Evans for assignment. Evans has played in 17 games for the Mets this year and he is 4 for 27 (.148 avg, .676 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He has played in 117 games in his four years with the Mets and he is 58 for 237 (.245 avg, .705 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. If Evans clears waivers, he will likely accept an outright assignment to AAA.

UPDATE: (7/27/2011) - Nick Evans has accepted an outright assignment to AAA to stay with the Mets.

The Mets plucked 24-year old righty reliever Pedro Beato off the Orioles last winter in the Rule 5 Draft. He has been a very important part of the Mets’ bullpen this year as he is looking like an outstanding pickup. Beato has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has given up 28 hits in his first 41 1/3 innings in the majors but only has 24 whiffs. He is trusting his stuff (which is good) as he looks like he could have a long career with the Mets.