Let’s take a quick look at the four newest Mets —
Francisco Rodriguez, RHP, closer
— The deal: three years, $37 million, agreed upon Tuesday. Here’s the story about the move.
— Age: 26
— Height: 6-0
— Weight: 175
— Fun fact: Will wear No. 75.
— Here are K-Rod’s career stats.
— Here’s a post I made last month about K-Rod’s short and long-term viability as a closer.
— The verdict: Even though every word I wrote last month is true, the Mets scored K-Rod at a far cheaper price, about half as much as his agent Paul Kinzer wanted originally ($70-75 million) and 60 percent shorter (three years rather than five). The money and the reasonable length of the deal makes the K-Rod signing much more palatable, even if he has shown signs of diminishing returns.
J.J. Putz, RHP, setup man
— The deal: acquired in a 12-player deal with Seattle and Cleveland late Wed. night. 
— Age: 31
— Height: 6-5
— Weight: 220
— Fun fact: Eddie Guardado taught Putz the splitter in the spring of 2006. A few weeks into the season Putz took Guardado’s job as the M’s closer.
— Here are Putz’s career stats.
— Here’s an interesting story by SI’s Tom Verducci about the best relief seasons of all-time, one of which was turned in by Putz in 2007.
— The verdict: Putz is the hard thrower the Mets lacked. He is a major upgrade over the likes of Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez and Luis Ayala.
Jeremy Reed, CF, fourth or fifth outfielder off the bench
— The deal: acquired in a 12-player deal with Seattle and Cleveland late Wed. night.
— Age: 27 
— Height: 6-0
— Weight: 160
— Fun fact: Ranked 25th in 2004 and 33rd in 2005 by Baseball America among all prospects in baseball.
— Here are Reed’s career stats.
— Here’s a look at where Reed ranked in Seattle’s system in 2005.
— The verdict: Reed will probably bring a good enough glove to replace Chavez. They also have strikingly similar histories at the plate (Reed’s career OPS is .679; Chavez’s is .680). Reed is younger (27 to 30), but may not be as much of a base-stealing threat as a pinch-runner (Chavez has 78 career steals; Reed has 19, although in half as many games).
Sean Green, RHP, in competition for a spot in middle relief
— The deal: acquired in a 12-player deal with Seattle and Cleveland late Wed. night.
— Age: 29
— Height: 6-6
— Weight: 230
— Fun fact: He is not this guy.
— Here are Green’s career stats.
— Green is an interesting guy. He started off the season very strong in ‘08, with three of his first four months bordering on exceptional. But it all fell apart in August and September. If you want to see for yourself, check out his game log from the season here. It happened in 2007 as well.
— The verdict: Green, a big sidearmer, pitched well to start last season before falling apart after the break. His future with the club remains to be seen.