A day after the New York Mets signed free agent reliever Francisco Rodriguez to bolster their shitty-beyond-belief bullpen, who dared imagine Omar Minaya’s next move would be to trade for a reliever who arguably might’ve been his Plan B had Rodriguez gone elsewhere?  If you’re wondering what the price tag was for a closer one year removed from a 40 save campaign, Newsday’s David Lennon has a full list of the departed :

The Mets are on the the brink of acquiring reliever J.J. Putz from the Mariners in a three-way deal that also includes the Indians, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday night.

The Mets would send Joe Smith to Cleveland for outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, who would then be traded to Seattle along with Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez and Mike Carp for Putz. The three teams are currently going over the medical records of all the players and the deal could be completed shortly.

Presumably, Heilman will compete for a spot in the Mariners rotation, while Chavez could well be the economy replacement for Raul Ibanez. Barring injury and/or a serious decline on the part of Carlos Delgado, Carp was unlikely to figure in the Mets’ plans in 2009.  Assuming you’re ok with Minaya giving up on Heilman, this is a terrific move ; the Mets have essentially made it a 7 inning game next season.  Of course, they still haven’t quite figured out who is pitching the 6th and 7th innings.  This offseason won’t be a fully realized triumph until Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis find new places of employment if not entirely new vocations.