NYP: Marquis tells Post he’s Perfect Fit for Mets
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post talked to free-agent RHP Jason Marquis, who feels he is a ‘perfect fit for the Mets.’
Marquis was 15–13 with a 4.04 ERA in 216 innings pitched for the Rockies last season, 
during which he struck out 115 batters, walked 80, and got twice as many ground balls as fly balls.
…to his credit, he has been pretty consistent over the last few seasons… i mean, since 2004, he’s essentially been the same pitcher… and so, i think it’s fair to expect he could win, say, 12 games or so for the Mets, have an ERA in the low 4.00s, make 30 or so starts, get himself in to the sixth inning every night, while leaving one or two guys on base per inning, and basically being your run-of-the-mill, back-of-the-rotation starter, no better or worse than, say, John Maine… and so, if the Mets goal is to put a body in the rotation who is likely to be healthy and from whom they know what to expect, for better or worse, marquis can certainly be that guy… i just don’t know that he should be that guy…
…from what i can gather, like Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, Doug Davis, and Joel Pineiro, teams are likely to offer marquis something around a two– year deal, worth roughly $8 million or so per season… i am sure one of the guys will be able squeak out a three-year deal, and i fear it could come from the Mets…
…in an ideal world, i like marquis on a one-year deal… i mean, if he wants to return home, and he would ‘love to pitch for the Mets,’ as he told Jeff Francoeur a few months ago, according to the Post, how about jason takes a home-town discount… i love the idea of local guys pithing for the Mets… i think that’s good for the brand, and for the fans to rally behind… but, it shouldn’t be the driving force to sign someone… and, i am pretty sure the Mets agree… regardless of where he was born, in the end, i’d rather wait and see how the overall market for starting pitching shakes out before rushing to sign a guy coming off a very good year…
According to published reports, the Mets rejected a deal from the Cubs during the Winter Meetings last off season that would have swapped Marquis for Aaron Heilman, who was instead traded to the Mariners for J.J. Putz.
To read direct quotes from Marquis, speaking about the Mets and Citi Field, check out Hubbuch’s entire report, here.
