Leave Lowe Alone

The Mets are highly considering signing Derek Lowe to a 4 year $60 million contract. What a mistake that would be. Lowe, who turns 36 this season, will be 40 years old at the end of that possible deal. Having logged over 1000 innings since he turned 30 Lowe is definitely on the back end of his career and you have to wonder how many years he may have left. In that same five year time span he has had double digit losses 4 times.

The length of contract is the issue here. We are no longer in the steroid days will players will be playing into their late 30’s at the same level they were at 10 years earlier. To pay a pitcher who is 40 years old $15 million dollars is absurd, especially in this economic times.

Oliver Perez can be had cheap compared to Lowe, all the while he is 27 years old, and just reaching his prime. Last year Perez made 34 starts the same number as Lowe, and pitched only 17 innings fewer. Perez has huge potential as every Met fan knows, and at a discount makes the most sense.

ESPN’s Peter Gammons wrote an interesting piece recently in which he explained that due to current economic conditions most mid and small market teams will try to dump their high salaried players come the trade deadline. If this is the case the Mets should pick up a reliable free agent such as Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez, or Jason Jennings, all of which are in their low 30’s, giving them a one or two year deal at 3 million a year plus incentives, and then trade for a Roy Oswalt come July.