FanHouse FernandoMartinez

NEW YORK – Now batting cleanup for the Mets: faith. Hitting fifth: hope. But how many runs can they drive in?

"You have to believe that somebody is going to catch fire and hopefully pick up some slack," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after the team placed center fielder Carlos Beltran on the disabled list.

"There is no doubt that this is going to be very challenging for us."

To recap: the Mets are without Beltran (fourth in the NL with a .336 average), first baseman Carlos Delgado and shortstop Jose Reyes.

That's three of the top five hitters from the Opening Day lineup and three guys who combined to score more than 40 percent of the team's runs in 2008.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

There I am. Bottom of the 10th inning. Promenade section of Citi Field.

With my hands swollen from furious applause throughout the night and my legs bobbing to stay warm, Fernando Martinez laced a hit to right field. We came alive once more, while the old man sitting next to me grumbled: "Another friggin single? Pelfrey's the only one who drove somethin'."

Sixteen hits and pitcher Mike Pelfrey was the Met with pop.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Remember 'Five Alive,' the juicy blend with five fruits that's fun for all the family? Well, Rick Porcello is a unique blend of rookie flavor who's reeled off five straight victories. You can hardly find that syrupy drink on the shelves anymore, but you can still find Porcello in about 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues. And that's not all there is to like about Porcello. After the jump, it's fun time for all fantasy owners! (sugar rush optional)

NEW YORK -- Assuming the rain holds off and they play baseball here at Citi Field Tuesday night, this could be a night for which Mets fans have been waiting excitedly for a while now -- the major league debut of outfield prospect Fernando Martinez.

In a slew of pregame moves, the Mets placed shortstop Jose Reyes and right fielder Ryan Church on the disabled list. They announced that the MRI on center fielder Carlos Beltran revealed a bone bruise on the tibia and that he would miss the remainder of the current series. They acquired shortstop Wilson Valdez from the Cleveland Indians for cash. And they called up Martinez from Triple-A Buffalo and put him in the starting lineup -- playing right field and batting sixth.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Big Apple, we have a problem. And one that could be a major concern in fantasy baseball leagues, too.

Jose Reyes, undoubtedly a top-10 fantasy pick, left Wednesday's game against the Dodgers after aggravating a right calf injury while trying to leg out an infield single. Reyes had missed five straight starts with the injury, and it looks like a trip to the disabled list is a possibility at some point. The Mets can consider alternatives to watching Ramon Martinez twirl his toothpick bat -- like the versatile Mark DeRosa -- but the solution isn't so simple for fantasy owners relying on his speed.

Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the New York Mets system.

Jon Niese, LHP: With the Mets' rotation seemingly set, Niese will most likely start the season at Triple-A Buffalo, but if Tim Redding struggles, or if John Maine's injury woes from last season continue, Niese will be the guy to fill in. His cup of coffee with the Mets last season should prove to be beneficial to pitcher and team alike. He had three starts in September of '08, which included two stinkers wrapped around an impressive eight inning gem in a 5-0 win against Atlanta.

Left on Base is MLB FanHouse's link dump.

* "In 21 months, or just 324 regular-season games from now, Derek Jeter's contract expires. At that point, the Yankees have to decide what to do with Jeter and Jeter has to decide what to do with the Yankees. [...] By 2011, the Yanks could have either Jeter or just his future plaque at Monument Park play short; they will have about the same range." -- Joel Sherman, New York Post

* "Sorry Punxsutawney Phil and your six-more-weeks-of-winter prediction, but if you live in New England and are a fan of Red Sox, a sure sign of spring has arrived -- Truck Day!" -- Steve Silva, Boston Globe

Fellow FanHouse blogger Josh Alper recently posed the question of how Twins GM Bill Smith could trade Johan Santana to the Mets without getting Fernando Martinez in return. It's a very good question, and one I was asking myself when I found out about the trade on Tuesday.

Well, it turns out that Smith may not have had a choice. According to the Pioneer Press' Charley Walters, who told us recently that Santana would be traded within 10 days, Johan forced the Twins to make the deal.

Johan Santana forced his trade to the New York Mets.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner told the Twins that unless they traded him by Tuesday, he would not waive his no-trade contract clause, he would go to spring training and play this season with the Twins, then become a free agent at season's end. That would mean the Twins' only compensation for him would be two draft picks.

As I've said before, Walters is somebody whose word I trust, and I don't doubt for a second that he's telling what he believes is the truth here. At the same time, it's entirely possible that Walters' source for this is someone within the Twins organization that's trying to spin the deal. After all, if I were a Twins fan I wouldn't be happy at all with what the team got in return for the greatest pitcher in organization history, and finding this out may turn the focus of my anger from the team to Santana.

There are lots of reasons why Johan Santana going to the Mets is a good trade for both sides. The Mets need an ace and to make some changes after last year's implosion, while Santana will be crossing into the weaker league and into a pitcher's park. He'll probably get 12 or so combined starts against the Nationals and Marlins. He'll be a great mentor for the incredibly talented young headcase Oliver Perez. That Omar Minaya managed to pull this thing off without including Fernando Martinez in the package is pretty freaking amazing.

The best part about this trade? There's something in it for everyone that isn't a Mets fan, too. Santana going to the Mets means one thing for the rest of baseball: he's not going to the Red Sox. You can call me a Boston-hater if you want, but consider something for me. Imagine a rotation of Santana, Beckett, Dice-K, Curt Schilling, and Clay Buchholz. How many games does that rotation win with the Red Sox lineup that's capable of scoring in the neighborhood of 900 runs? 110? 120? How does that team lose a best-of-five or best-of-seven playoff series?

When you really get into this trade, it's a good one for the sport of baseball. It keeps the AL picture muddled and it raises the Mets up to the level of the other NL contenders by giving them a legitimate ace. It also marks the second big-time ace (after Dan Haren) to move from the AL to the weaker NL this off-season. The trade may suck for the Twins, but beyond that it's the best result the rest of baseball could've hoped for.

Looks like Carlos Gomez wasn't pulled from the Caribbean World Series for no reason. The Mets and Twins have agreed on a deal to send Johan Santana to Queens for four prospects, pending an agreement on a contract extension between the lefty and his new club. The package - Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey - doesn't include prized outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, long believed to be the sticking point in negotiations.

Take your hat off to Omar Minaya for getting this deal done without including Martinez. In a market that had the Twins demandin several top prospects from all suitors, Minaya's handiwork should be applauded. He dealt three pitchers who, while solid prospects, weren't going to help the Mets appreciably in 2008 or 2009 and turned them into the game's best pitcher. Throw in the helpful move from American to National League and the pitcher's paradise that is Shea Stadium and you've got a gem of a deal for the Amazins.

As for the Twins, it's a mixed blessing. They got a five-tool player in Gomez who will replace Torii Hunter in the lineup this summer. But GM Bill Smith didn't get Phil Hughes or any other stud, major league ready pitcher for the rotation. The three ex-Mets project as major leaguers, but none is quite there yet. Coupled with the trade of Matt Garza earlier this offseason and the rehabbing Francisco Liriano, the Twins are looking awfully thin on the mound in the near future.