The Mets have dealt 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Rangers for 25-year old right swinging infielder Joaquin Arias. Francoeur played in 123 games for the Mets this year and he was 94 of 398 (.236 avg, .663 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 11 homers, 53 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He played in 198 games in his two years with the Mets and he was 184 of 687 (.268 avg, .735 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 21 homers, 94 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Joaquin Arias will immediately help out the Mets’ bench as he can handle 2B, SS and 3B defensively. Arias played in 50 games for the Rangers this year and he was 27 of 98 (.276 avg, .637 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 91 games over parts of four years in the majors and he is 65 of 227 (.276 avg, .637 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 19 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

The Mets have signed 30-year old righty reliever Yhency Brazoban to a minor league deal. He pitched in 52 games (0 starts) in the Mexican League this year and he was 4-3 with 8 saves, a 2.22 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Brazoban whiffed 81 batters in only 73 innings in Mexico this year. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Dodgers. He has pitched in 116 games (0 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 10-12 with 21 saves, a 4.70 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Brazoban has already pitched in 4 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Mets and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. If he pitches well the next couple of weeks the Mets will likely call him up when rosters expand on September 1st.

The Mets have lost 34-year old righty swinging catcher Rod Barajas on waivers to the Dodgers. Barajas played in 74 games for the Mets this year and he was 56 of 249 (.225 avg, .677 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 12 homers and 34 RBIs. The Mets get relief from Barajas’ salary by letting him go like this plus it will give them an extended look at 23-year old lefty swinging Josh Thole as the starting catcher. Thole has played in 40 games for the Mets this year and he is 28 of 97 (.289 avg, .712 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Mets have released 34-year old lefty swinging infielder Alex Cora. Cora played in 62 games for the Mets this year and he was 35 of 169 (.207 avg, .543 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Mets have recalled 20-year old righty swinging infielder Ruben Tejada to replace Cora on the roster. Tejada played in 35 games earlier this year for the Mets and he was 22 of 104 (.212 avg, .547 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Mets won’t miss Cora too much as there is no reason to think that Tejada can’t play just as well or better.

The Mets have released 37-year old righty starting pitcher Ramon Ortiz. Ortiz started 8 games in AAA-ball this year for the Mets and he was 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. The Mets obviously didn’t think Ortiz would help them at any point this season so it was a smart mover to let him go so he can seek employment elsewhere.