Mlbtraderumors.com reports big rumor

According to Mlbtraderumors.com the Mets, Red Sox, and Nationals are all discussing a possible three way deal that does not include Manny Ramirez. The website says the reported deal is as follows:

Red Sox trade Matt Clement and Alex Cora
Nationals trade Jose Vidro and Jay Bergmann
Mets trade Lastings Milledge and Xavier Nady (with some chance of Victor Diaz instead of Milledge)
Red Sox receive Milledge and Nady
Nationals receive Clement and Cora plus cash if Clement pitches over 150 innings
Mets receive Vidro and Bergmann plus a PTNBL from either Nats or Sox depending on Vidro's health. (Livan Hernandez could end up with the Mets as well)

It says we may be getting Livan Hernandez, Vidro, Jay Bermann, and a player to be named later for Milledge and Nady, but Milledge may in fact be Diaz.

If I were to give this trade a first sight glance it'd be nearly impossible since it is unclear whether or not Milledge is included in the deal. If the deal includes Milledge I probably will be against the deal. In this scenario the Mets would wind up having Victor Diaz in right field for the season, Jose Vidro at second, Livan Hernandez in the two spot in the rotation, and lastly they'd have Jay Bergmann in the bullpen. That sounds like a great improvement on the field but lets take a deeper look into the players we are getting. Some have suspicions that Jose Vidro's career is over, but those reports seem false, nevertheless he is a injury prone player. Vidro played only 87 games last year and only 110 games in 2004, but when he plays he's very succesful. He has mediocore power, but he has very good bat control and consistently puts up a great average. He's a solid player but is a big risk due to his injury plagued past. Next, Livan Hernandez who has one of the most durable arms in the game. Hernandez seemed to be on pace for a career year at the all-star break but a less than stellar second half de-railed any hopes Hernandez had for a career year. His 4.58 era after the all-star break did not represent the all-star's abillity. Hernandez was also hurt playing with an injured knee which recquired surgery. When you add a player like Hernandez you add 240 innings and about a mid 3 era, another solid player with less risk than Vidro. Lastly, Jay Bergmann who Baseball America says

...Used his slider more out of the bullpen, and it showed signs of becoming an above-average pitch, joining his 90-93 mph fastball that touches 95. He also throws a decent tumbling changeup and an on-and-off curveball, and he added an 88-mph cutter that could be the key to his development.

After making the adjustments, Bergmann went 3-2, 1.14 in 32 innings out of the pen at Brevard County. Then he pitched well in the Arizona Fall League, going 3-3, 3.80 in 24 innings for the Peoria Javelinas. If he can keep his three-quarters arm slot from varying and improve his command, Bergmann could be a quality big league reliever before too long.

He is not on the Nationals top 10 prospect list, so I assume that he is a similar player to John Maine,the minor leaguer the Mets receieved in the Benson deal, just in the bullpen. You can add all of these pieces for a right fielder who may or may not be succesful in New York and a top prospect who is coveted by every team. If Milledge is included over Diaz than I'd still have to reject this deal. If we trade Milledge it should be for Zito, and Zito only, at least that's my opinion going into Spring Training. Zito in the rotation and some sort of rotation of Matsui/Boone/Hernandez/Woodward/Keppinger at second base seems to be a better combination than Vidro at second and Hernandez in the rotation. Zito and Hernandez are equally durable, but Zito is younger and has won a Cy Young, something Hernandez cannot say he has accomplished. Diaz, on the other hand, would make the deal a steal in my opinnion. The only downside to that trade would mean that we would be without a right fielder which I assume would mean that Endy Chavez would be in rightfield for about half a season and if Milledge is ready he'd take over. Everything I just said is if mlbtraderumors is correct and if Hernandez is included in the deal, which may not happen so stay tuned. What do you guys think?

Do you like this deal?
	Not if Milledge is included
	NO! Not with Milledge and not with Diaz
	Yes for Milledge and for Diaz
	Yes for Diaz, no for Milledge
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