Isn’t it amazing what kind of a player David Wright can be when he’s actually surrounded by some legitimate major league talent?

Currently, Wright is enjoying some of the most spectacular baseball he’s ever played in his career, and why not? We’ve all seen what the Mets All Star third baseman could do before when he had great protection in the lineup.

It was no coincidence that Wright had his best two seasons as a Met when both Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran were lethal weapons for the Mets, before each of them got hurt and became less effective.

Back then, we saw what “Captain America” was capable of, and things haven’t been the same since Dos Carlos were last seen together in a Mets lineup with David Wright.

It’s been a grind for Wright since the 2009 season. Sure, he’s had his moments and even a couple of tremendous halves on two occasions. But not nearly the kind of consistent seasons we saw from Wright during the three year stretch spanning 2006-2008.

I believe that on Omar Minaya’s part, he understood that Wright needed that protection and while Jason Bay ended up being a complete and colossal bust, nobody could have predicted the AL’s leading home run and RBI man would collapse the way that he did once he joined the New York Mets. Then the money ran out.

Wright now enters the 2013 season with way too many question marks in the lineup. Lucas Duda is 27 and is still a project just as he was two years ago. Ike Davis has yet to put together two good halves and form one solid season. And it looks like Collin Cowgill and Marlon Byrd may log a lot of playing time this season if we are to believe the daily reports from the Mets’ beat writers and some of the things Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins have said.

That’s a far cry from the likes of Eric Hosmer, Ryan Braun, Joe Mauer and Giancarlo Stanton, who are some of the players that are sandwiching Wright on Team USA’s power-packed, star-studded lineup.

So while some of us look upon what Wright is doing with astonishment and excitement, lets understand what we are really seeing here. These amazing moments are most likely not a portent of things to come during the Mets 2013 regular season. I urge and caution all of my fellow Met fans to reign in any gaudy expectations your mind may have already conjured up and dial it back a few notches.

Go ahead and savor what David Wright is currently doing in the World Baseball Classic and relish every moment. Be proud of what Wright accomplishes with every mighty swing of his bat. But don’t forget that it’s only March 14, and that the real baseball season begins on April 1. That is when reality will sink in for most of us, but mostly for David Wright as well. He returns to a lineup devoid of the type of talent he surrounds himself with now.

So enjoy the spectacle we have before us while it lasts, and Go Team USA!

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This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader, KMaxx.

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Joe Mauer at Fenway Park (Photo by Jim Mancari)

The Minnesota Twins places All-Star catcher Joe Mauer on revocable trade waivers earlier this week, and, not too surprisingly, no team put a claim in for him.

The 29-year-old is due $23 million per season through 2018, so team’s likely balked at that salary.

I heard some reports that the Mets should have gone after Mauer if the Twins were willing to work out a deal. I know it’s slightly after the fact (at least until the offseason), but let’s dissect this trade possibility.

Yes, Mauer isn’t exactly his former self and projects more as a first baseman than a catcher, but the guy is producing this year at a .312 clip with eight home runs and 68 RBI, which earned him his fifth All-Star selection.

The Mets are desperately seeking offensive production from the catcher’s spot, and Mauer would be an instant upgrade. Kelly Shoppach has looked OK offensively, but Shoppach is not Mauer, end of story.

The problem here is that in order to keep Mauer healthy, he needs to either play first base or DH. Obviously DH is not an option in the NL, so it would have to be first base.

Ike Davis is currently the Mets first baseman. He struggled out of the gate early, but his power numbers have been just as expected. Are we already willing to give up on Ike in favor of a catcher who is more of a first baseman?

Let’s say though the Mets can trade Ike for some outfield help. In fact, let’s say that Ike is included in a deal for Mauer that also nets the Mets Josh Willingham. The “Hammer” is signed for $14 million over the next two seasons, but he’ll also be 34 to begin next season.

However, the whole purpose in trading for Mauer would be to add him to a lineup that includes Ike Davis. So instead the Mets would have to dig into their prospects for a deal.

Think back to winter 2008 when the Mets and Twins made a trade for Johan Santana. The Twins acquired four prospects: Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. Humber pitched a perfect game but for the White Sox, Gomez is now on the Brewers, Mulvey is gone from the Twins system and Guerra may have a shot to be a decent pitcher for the Twins.

If the Mets start throwing around names like Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia and Collin McHugh (obviously Zack Wheeler is untouchable), the Twins may get skeptical based on the results of the other trade. But that’s the whole point of rolling the dice on prospects; some don’t pan out.

I’m not a general manger (maybe just an arm-chair GM), but if somehow the Mets could have worked out a deal for Mauer and Willingham, the team would be in good shape maybe just for next year, but beyond that it would be a gamble. Here’s what a lineup would look like, assuming no other big moves were made:

Tejada SS, Murphy 2B, Mauer C, Wright 3B, Davis 1B, Willingham LF, Duda RF, CF (either Hairston, Nieuwenhuis, den Dekker, B.J. Upton perhaps).

This would be a pretty good team, but I just don’t see it happening. Actually to answer the title question, I don’t want it to happen. If the Twins were going to ask for mid-level prospects just to get something back for Mauer, then maybe. But Mauer is locked up for six more years, so the Twins would have to be blown away by an offer for this to work. They aren’t going to trade their only superstar just for the sake of making a deal.

So instead, expect something a little more like this for next season:

Tejads SS, Murphy 2B, Wright 3B, Davis 1B, Hairston/Baxter RF, Duda/Bay LF, Shoppach/Thole C, CF (Nieuwenhuis or den Dekker).

GM Sandy Alderson said the team would be creative in the trade market perhaps. The free agent market will be weak this offseason (except for Josh Hamilton, fat chance Mets fans!), so trades will be the only way to improve this team.

Again, if the Mets and Twins can work out a trade for Mauer and even throw in Willingham in which the Mets assume the contracts (another big if) rather than mortgaging the farm system, I guess it could work. But that’s living in a fantasy world.

The safe bet: Stay away from Mauer and explore other options.

To begin, Toronto starting pitcher Roy Halladay has given the Blue Jays a deadline for trading him or he will invoke his no trade clause according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Roy Halladay, the All-Star pitcher who has been the subject of much trade talk since before the July deadline, will not approve any proposed deal after he reports to spring training, according to his representatives.

This means that the Toronto Blue Jays either will have to work out a trade of Halladay by the end of the offseason, or be prepared to receive only draft-pick compensation when the pitcher becomes eligible for free agency in the fall of 2010.

Olney also adds that currently, Halladay would only accept a deal to the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, or Angels. If the Mets want Halladay, they better get busy signing a Matt Holliday or Jason Bay first, because it looks like he only wants to play for a team that is a lock for the playoffs, and not one that has merely a chance to contend.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer will end contract negotiations if he doesn’t have a deal with the Twins by a deadline of Opening Day.

Mauer plans on ending contract negotiations if a deal isn’t struck by the end of spring training, a source close to the American League Most Valuable Player told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. Mauer would play out the season, then enter free agency primed to land perhaps the second-biggest bonanza in baseball history.

It looks like Mauer just wants to light a fire under the Twins brass, but they have already said they plan on getting a deal done by Christmas. I wonder what kind of a hometown discount Mauer will give the Twins if any?

Finally, today is the deadline for teams to offer their players arbitration. The Mets are not expected to offer arby to Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and Fernando Tatis, but they have a few players on the bubble such as John Maine, Jeremy Reed, Tim Redding and Cory Sullivan.

Once the deadline passes, it should add a few dozen more players to the free agent class. There may be some good opportunities to pick up a solid player or two. Many of the non-tenders are very useful players who were non-tendered because they would have been grossly overpaid thanks to the current system which has many flaws.

The big MLB news today is that Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer has won the American League MVP award. (Yeay!) He beats out both Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter of the Yankees who finished second and third. Mauer’s election was nearly unanimous except for one voter, Keizo Konishi of Kyodo News, who gave his first place vote to Miguel Cabrera. Hopeful he will have his voting rights revoked before he really screws something up in the future.

Mauer gets a $100 K bonus for his feat, but Cabrera who finished in fourth place thanks to Konishi, will get a $200 K bonus, twice as much as Joe Mauer. I wonder how much Miguel gave him for the solid?

The worst part of the news for me was reading the comments on the MLB Boards. One of them remarked, “this is perfect, once the Yankees sign him in 2011, we will have three MVP’s in our lineup.”

I was going to respond, but the more I thought about it the more I figured he was probably right. I know the Twins are desperately trying to sign him long term, but isn’t that what all the teams say just before talks break down, free agency finally comes, and the Yankees sign them before that Christmas?

Just ask the Brewers who lost Sabathia, the Blue Jays who lost Burnett, and the Angels who lost Teixeira last off season. And we may just be seeing it again this season if the Yankees do get Roy Halladay or John Lackey as rumored.

I recently read that the Florida Marlins may be forced to move their ace starting pitcher Josh Johnson acording to two sources. Guess who both sources thought had the best chance of trading for him?

Sometimes, there is no justice in the world.

I had no intentions of watching the one game playoff between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers last night. Somehow, almost as if it was fate, I came upon the game while channel surfing and paused only because I heard Ron Darlings voice. “Wow’, I thought to myself, “at least one 2009 Met made it to the post season.”

It was the seventh inning and I figured, what the heck, I’ll just watch and see who gets the honor of being mauled by the Yankees later this week.

The high definition drama that would then unfold before my very eyes swallowed me whole. The game sunk its claws into me and it didn’t let go.

By the time everything was said and done, I found myself cheering for the Twins and rooting for guys like Joe Mauer, Orlando Cabrera and of course our old friend Carlos Gomez who scored the dramatic winning run in the bottom of the 12 inning. From the time I tuned in until the end, I watched the lead change hands five times. What a battle…

“This is the most unbelievable game I’ve ever played or seen,” Twins shortstop Orlando Cabrera said.

Their thrilling victory stirred me inside, and I was so happy and grateful that fate led me to watch one of the most exciting finishes to a game that I had seen all year.

Immediately after the game, I quickly went online while the festivities ensued on TBS. I was curious about the makeup of their roster. Surprisingly, I hardly recognized most of the names. Who are these guys I thought, and why are they going to the Divisional Series while my Mets wallow in self pity?

The Twins are mostly comprised of one huge mega-star in catcher Joe Mauer, who is then surrounded by a host of quality complimentary players like Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Orlando Cabrera, Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young. Cabrera and his .312 OBP is the spiritual heart of the team, and yes grit and leadership does trump statistical nirvana.

Who could believe that the Mets would swindle the Twins out of their ace Johan Santana, and that they would be the ones to go to the post season first?

Last night I filed for temporary custody of the Twins as my new adoptive team… at least for the duration of their joyride. A ride that I hope leads them to the pinnacle of baseball.

They are everything I wanted the Mets to be.

Join us for a LIVE CHAT tomorrow at 8:00 PM, as we will field questions about the current state of the Mets, and what the Hot Stove Season may have in store for the Amazins. It will be part of a regular feature all off season long as we track and discuss all of the Mets off season moves. Mets baseball never ends on Mets Merized Online.