The Mets recently received both the undelivered players from the trade that sent Shawn Estes to Cincinnati for Pedro Feliciano, Elvin Andujar and two PTBNL. New York acquired OF-R Raul Gonzalez from the Reds in late August and OF-R Brady Clark last Monday to complete the deal.

Gonzalez is too old to be considered a prospect, but the 28-year-old possesses good plate discipline complimented by both moderate speed and power skills. If the Reds had been more in need of outfielders over the last two seasons, he likely would have spent most of his time in the majors rather than AAA. Cincinnati finally promoted Gonzalez for an extended look earlier this season when injuries and trades momentarily depleted their outfield. While at AAA Louisville in the International League, Gonzalez hit .333 with a .416 OBP and .495 SLG on 144 H, 27 2B, 2 3B, and 13 HR with a 61:59 BB:K and 9/17 SB% in 432 AB. The Mets added him to their major league roster as soon as he was announced as the first PTBNL, and he's started fairly regularly since switching organizations. Depending on what moves New York makes in the off-season, Gonzalez should have at least a position as a fourth outfielder in 2003.

Clark is four months older than Gonzalez and has slightly better speed and power skills, but the two players are otherwise very similar and should compete for the same playing time unless the Mets complete several trades this off-season. Both are legitimate major leaguers and should contribute greatly to improving the team next season; New York GM Steve Phillips made a very good trade when dumping Estes.

Feliciano is among the Mets' September call-ups, along with RHP Satoru Komiyama, RHP Jason Middlebrook, C-R Jason Phillips, RHP Grant Roberts, UT-R Marcos Scutaro, OF-S Esix Snead, RHP Tyler Walker, and UT-R Ty Wigginton. While New York wants to continue to win games to please their fans, their goals this month are different than teams still in the playoff hunt. The Mets are free to use this time to audition players from their high minors who they potentially want with the major league club next season.

Feliciano is auditioning for a major league position as a left-handed reliever in 2003. I expect he'll break camp with the team out of Spring Training, joining Jaime Cerda to comprise the Mets' lefty relief corps. Komiyama will likely exercise his player option for next season, but I expect him to again spend most of the season in AAA unless he shows improvement in Spring Training or early in the minor league season. He's on the roster now to grab some additional experience whenever the Mets have some extra innings they don't want to give to better prospects. Roberts missed the last three months with shoulder tendinitis. He's in the majors to pitch a few innings before the end of the season.

Middlebrook received a spot start earlier this week, as the Mets' needed an extra starter due to a double header. Unfortunately, New York doesn't intend to keep him in the rotation for the remainder of the year. However, he's thoroughly proven himself in AAA and deserves a position as a major league starter next season. The Mets will be a lesser team next season if Mike Bacsik is given a rotation spot over Middlebrook. Tyler Walker is also better than Bacsik, though also not as good as Middlebrook

New York drafted Phillips out of San Diego State University in the 24th round of the 1997 draft. With Mike Piazza in the majors the Mets haven't needed to rush the catcher and have allowed him to advance through the minors at a steady pace. Phillips spent most of last season at AA Binghamton in the Eastern League before late season promotions to AAA Norfolk and the majors. The 25-year-old began this season back at AAA Norfolk where he hit .282 with a .327 OBP and .477 SLG on 91 H, 22 2B, 1 3B, and 13 HR with a 24:29 BB:K and 1/1 SB% in 323 AB. As you can see, he possesses moderate power skills with promising plate discipline. Scouts also praise Phillips' defense, putting him in a prime position to push Piazza to first base.

Piazza suffered from the typical assortment of minor injuries brought on by the strain of catching this season and has now developed tendinitis in his wrist, which makes catching difficult. He probably will undergo surgery in the off-season on his wrist. Consequently, there appears to be an opening for Phillips in the majors next season. However, while the Mets can buy out Mo Vaughn's 2004 option, the first baseman is under contract for next season, which makes it difficult to move Piazza to 1B. New York will likely attempt to deal Vaughn this winter but Phillips will likely return to AAA until they can move Mo unless Piazza is unable to play. Piazza's current troubles do mean that Phillips should receive substantial September at-bats.

The Mets have discussed trading Roberto Alomar this off-season, which would likely leave either Scutaro or Ty Wigginton as their starting second baseman in 2003. Both could also make the team as utility players, though Wigginton has more experience at a variety of positions than Scutaro. While their skills are fairly similar Wigginton is two years younger in addition to offering extra flexibility and has slightly better strike zone judgment and power skills than Scutaro. They're both in the majors now to collect some at-bats and allow the Mets to view them against big league competition.

Snead is best known for the 109 bases he stole at A+ Potomac in the Carolina League in 2000. He struggled last season upon his first exposure to AA due to a sudden drop in his plate discipline, but he's rebounded somewhat this year in the Mets' system. At AA Binghamton, Snead hit .252 with a .335 OBP and .327 SLG on 101 H, 9 2B, 6 3B, and 3 HR with a 45:72 BB:K and 66:84 SB% in 401 AB. The 26-year-old certainly needs AAA time before he should even think about a job in the majors, but he looks more worthy of a big league job sometime in the future now than he did a year ago. Snead is in the majors primarily as a reward for his improvement. I expect he'll receive a few pinch-running assignments and maybe a half-dozen at-bats. Whenever he reaches the majors, he's a fifth outfielder at best since he hasn't demonstrated the offensive skills to support a more regular position.