Trachsel gets complicated extension

I don't understand this at all. It virtually guarnatees that the top three spots in the Mets' starting rotation will go unchanged in 2005, and perhaps 2006 as well, depending on Tom Glavine's option and Al Leiter's desire to play into his forties. Now, I'm as big a Steve Trachsel fan as anyone, and the innings pitched-related conditions on this deal do a decent job of shielding the Mets against the decline of a pitcher who'll be thirty-five by the time the deal ends, if all goes well. And if there were any way to keep Trachsel for the next two years and get rid of Glavine, I'd be all for it. But in reality, we're stuck with Glavine at least through next year and probably through 2006 as well. So unless the Mets turn around and trade Trachsel at some point, this deal leaves just two spots in the rotation for Tyler Yates, Jae Weong Seo, Aaron Heilman, Grant Roberts and, eventually, Scott Kazmir, Matt Peterson and company. This doesn't sound like the compostion of a team committed to getting younger.

Glavine's going nowhere. Even if he doesn't reach 200 innings next year, and he won't, I have doubts about Wilpon's willingness to pony up the three million dollars it would take to buy out the fourth year of his contract. Leiter will have a job as long as he wants one, a la John Franco. And this move makes me think that the team is actually committed to keeping Steve Trachsel for the long haul. It's not his fault that the team is stuck with Glavine, but given that situation, the team really doesn't have room for Trachsel if they're looking toward the future. After all the talk about getting younger and building through the farm system, it looks like it's going to take a serious injury or two to the top three starters for the Mets' young pitching talent to get a shot. Unless the Mets have some brilliant plan to package Trachsel and a young arm to two to get Carlos Beltran at the trading deadline, this deal doesn't make any sense to me.  ¶ joe | 4:39 PM |