BALTIMORE — A player who is friendly with Roy Oswalt says the Astros right-hander would accept a trade to the Mets if they remain in the playoff hunt. But the fact Oswalt is still owed about $30 million through 2011 makes it extremely unlikely the Mets would pursue him.
The player who is friendly with Oswalt said the right-hander likes the veteran fiber of the Mets.
Much can change between now and the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, but manager Jerry Manuel indicated he isn’t campaigning for the Mets to add a starting pitcher.
Manuel pointed to the fact Nos. 4 and 5 starters, R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi, are a combined 9-2.
“You can’t get any better than that,” Manuel said. “You’re actually in pretty good shape. At 9-2, I don’t care who you go out and get, that’s going to be tough to [equal].”
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Chris Carter still doesn’t have the ball commemorating his first career home run, but he has the second.
The lefty slugger yesterday homered in his second start of the weekend as the Mets’ designated hitter, helping his team roll to an 11-4 victory over the Orioles.
Carter’s three-run homer against Kevin Millwood in the first inning gave the Mets a 5-0 lead. He also hit a three-run homer on Friday.
The Mets retrieved Carter’s ball yesterday. On Friday, the fan who caught Carter’s first home run rejected an offer of autographed baseballs from David Wright, Jose Reyes and Francisco Rodriguez and an autographed bat from Carter in exchange for the ball. The fan also wanted signed items from the Orioles, and the Mets declined to pursue the matter.
Carter figures to remain the DH in Cleveland, where the Mets are scheduled to face three righties.
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John Maine threw 63 pitches in a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton at Trenton and allowed one hit over four shutout innings. Maine said he expects to throw 80-90 pitches in a rehab start on Friday before returning to the Mets.
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Carlos Beltran had the day off in Port St. Lucie as he continues the rehab on his right knee. There is almost no possibility, according to a club source, that Beltran will begin a minor-league rehab this week.