An interesting trade ^[1] appears to be close for the Mets.

New York would send Angel Pagan to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Andres Torres and reliever Ramon Ramirez.

The trade makes a ton of sense for the Mets.

In Torres, they are getting a hitter just a year removed from posting an OPS+ of 122 while playing an extremely good center field. His offense dropped precipitously in 2011, just like Pagan’s, but Torres’ defense remained stellar. And after making just $2.2 million last year, he’ll probably check in around $3 million in arbitration; Pagan will get more like $5  million.

So it isn’t clear that Pagan is a better bet than Torres in 2012, both come with one-year commitments, and Torres is much cheaper.

But wait; there’s more.

Ramon Ramirez is a very good relief pitcher. He struck out nearly a batter an inning in 2011, walked a reasonable 3.4 per nine, and made just $1.65 million last year, putting his salary around $2.5 million in arbitration this year. He’ll instantly become the best relief pitcher on the Mets, which says a great deal about current inventory, to be sure, but reiterates that Ramirez is a help for this team.

No, they didn’t just win the pennant, for those who want to dismiss any minor move. But this is a good move for the Mets.

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