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The Mets signed RHP Tony Armas Jr. to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
He appeared in 31 games last year as a starter and reliever, posting a 4-5 record with a 6.03 ERA.
…armas is probably best known for being one of the top Boston prospects sent to the Expos for Pedro Martinez…now he’s fighting for a roster spot on pedro’s team…

Thats going to be Mulvey in 5 years.
Don’t agree there, maybe Humber, but not Mulvey.
Mulvey’s got 4 solid pitches that he can command. He’ll be a Major Leaguer in some fashion (Albeit probably an unspectacular one) for many years. Humber is more of a boom or bust type.
Honestly, i have no idea… all i know about Humber’s performance is from what i’ve read on this site. I just thought it was an interesting hypothetical thought.
I was about to post that I was surprised that Armas didn’t get a major league deal — but then I looked up his stats….
Why did I have it in my head that Tony Armas, Jr. was decent in the not-too-distant past? His numbers are awful!
i thought the same..
I actually had him on my fantasy team in 2002…probably one of the only years he’d be worth having on a team at all
I disagree. I like this pickup - depends on the price too, of course, but he’s not a bad insurance policy. Don’t forget that whoever we’re picking up now has to come in on a minor league deal - and as far as non-guaranteed contracts go, Armas is pretty close to the top of the list. He’s a decent insurance policy if 7 other guys go down… Interesting that MLBTR hasn’t reported this trade. Tim is pretty consistent in discussing/announcing ALL semi-important pick ups. May be the money is really minimal here…or Armas is considered dead and buried…
This is a fantastic move with the options available, a minor leauge deal is an ideal signing for this guy Armas. Armas is a strike out guy and some time in the minors might prove promising come the trade deadline or via injury. Didnt Omar monitor this guy for the expos. Well Church, Schiedner, Armas. Potential is there to contribute.
NICE…a double posting due to the signing of Tony Armas Jr….Spring Training cant get here soon enough,,,,
FYI, hes also the only player(and his dad) whos name consists of only body parts….
Toe-Knee Arm-Ass….
lol that is probably the funniest thing i’ve ever heard concerning someone’s name lmao
Saltzy is on his game today
BRILLIANT!!
Can’t hurt. I suspect the Mets’ plan is to have him be a starter at AAA, at the ready if/when the injury bug leaves the Mets with a whole in the rotation. Whether he’s willing to play that game (he may not have much choice) is another question.
good point, and this is why i like this deal, no risk, possible reward. good move by omar who probably knows armas from his days in montreal. hey, maybe he gets to camp and works with peterson and figures himself out after all he is only 29. he had a 4.27 ERA in the last 60 innings he pitched last year.
At least they didn’t bring back Jose Lima.
Don’t give ‘em any ideas!!
Bring back Macky Sasser!!
Well, this is the 2008 version of Jose Lima, Brian Lawrence, and Chan Ho Park…that’s exciting…at least Armas has decent stuff and will take up space if a pitcher gets injured
Beat me to that point. He is the newer but more improved version of Park, Lima, and Lawrence. We could do worse than Armas Jr. for AAA insurance in case of injuries. And we do have Pelfrey, Sosa, and Vargas as other and better options to try first before him. He is pretty young at 29 yrs. old and who knows? He can be a surprise contributor. Never doubt Omar when it comes to these lesser publicized pick-ups. Omar never stops thinking and working at giving us a competitive, prepared team. Good signing imo. Could have done worse.
you would be hard pressed to convince anyone that Vargas is a better option than Armas Jr or Figueroa…
AAA rotation looks like Pelfrey, Armas Jr., Figueroa, Bostick, and one of Vargas, Jose Santiago, and… Garry Bakker?
Vargas actually looks like the AAA long man to me if the Mets even bother to retain him.
You do realize that Vargas is still young and lefty right?
yea, but I also realize that he has never had any success higher than A ball so expecting him to do anything other than struggle at AAA just like he has the last two years is a bit of a reach.
I also realize that he is out of options and the Mets are likely planning that someone will snag him on waivers because they see the young and lefty side of things and fail to realize there is little potential there.
Due to little use in college, and being rushed through the Marlins system Vargas is basically a college pitcher trying to pitch in the big leagues. Its not going to work. IMO Vargas will not be getting any better.
You can never have too many minor league pitchers =)
The reality is you need those 6th 7th and 8th starters at some point in the season. Depth at starting pitching in a 162 game season is huge. Armas is a good callup after someone gets injured
agreed. When you need a guy to start the 2nd game of a doubleheader on 1 day’s notice, you call him up. If you DFA him and he doesn’t clear waivers to be sent back, no big loss.
Decent move, The guy has good stuff, just hasnt been able to put it all togeather. Should be at least some depth in AAA.
Rick Peterson can fix him in 5 minutes!
Damn, I was gonna say that. Nice work cpat. BTW, the third man in that trade was the malingering Carl Pavano. Don’t think Peterson can help that thief.
Good signing. He’s probably our new best option for a replacement starter after Pelfrey, and I’m sure we’ll need him at some point.
An efficient and experienced piece of the puzzle. A very small piece, albeit.
But Armas/Brain Lawrence/Chan Ho park types always contribute a good 10-15 starts per season.
I think all Mets fans pray that it’s much less starts then that….lol
Chacon would have been better. I hope Armas likes New Orleans.
maybe thats why he signed.. hes gettin ready for the parties down on New Orleans lol
I would imagine that after Chacon’s solid season last year that he’d be looking for a ML deal.
http://www.metsprospectus.blogspot.com/2008/02/spartans-unite.html
The New York Times has an update on players who have already arrived at Port St. Lucie for spring training. But the BIGGEST NEWS has to be that the Mets FINALLY gave Aaron Heilman a parking spot!! CONGRATS HEILMAN!
So who’s chillen in Port St. Lucie?
Brian Schneider: Schneider, who lives about 40 minutes south in Palm Beach Gardens, showed up, fresh off his brother’s wedding over the weekend in Illinois.
John Maine: Maine has been here since last week. “I had nothing better to do back home,” Maine said.
Joe Smith: Joe Smith stopped in and threw a bullpen session.
Duaner Sanchez: It was encouraging to see a trimmer Duaner Sanchez, whose shoulder problems have prevented him from pitching since July 2006, out on the field.
Oliver Perez: Perez popped his head into the clubhouse today.
Mike Pelfrey: Recently Arrived
Johan Santana and David Wright are expected to arrive tonight.
At least we won’t have to hit against him. Somehow, no matter how much he sucked otherwise, he always seemed to bring the A-game when pitching against the Mets.
Yeah this is fine. Look at the Mets SP depth over the last three years going into the spring.
2006: Pedro, Glavine, Trachsel, Zambrano, Bannister, Maine, Lima, Gonzalez, Soler
2007: Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, Sosa, Park, Humber, Vargas
2008: Santana, Pedro, Maine, Perez, El Duque, Pelfrey, Sosa, Armas, Vargas
I’d say this organization has done a pretty good job of upgrading its rotation. And even if we lose both Perez and Pedro in 2009, I’ll be pretty content having Santana and Maine as a top two to build around. Especially if Maine can post a solid 2008 (and assuming they both stay healthy, of course). And when you think about it, Santana and Maine will combine to make virtually the same amount of money as Pedro and Glavine combined to make in 2006.
I was always upset that they let Soler go - I liked his stuff. What’s he up to these days anyway?