Ben Sheets parlayed his year off from baseball into a one-year, $10 million contract with Oakland and Jon Garland will now peddle his wares in San Diego after signing a one-year deal with the Padres.

I was looking at some of the free agent pitchers (Sheets and Garland included) who were supposedly being considered by the Mets to be a part of their 2010 roster and noticed something interesting.  Tell me if you notice any similarities between these pitchers:

• Doug Davis: signs with Milwaukee for one year, $5.25 million.
• Jon Garland: signs with San Diego for one year, $4.7 million.
• Jason Marquis: signs with Washington for two years, $15 million.
• Ben Sheets: signs with Oakland for one year, $10 million.
• Randy Wolf: signs with Milwaukee for three years, $29.75 million.

All of them signed relatively short deals.  All of them signed for less than the average annual value of Oliver Perez’s contract.  However, what I noticed the most is that all of them signed with teams that finished with losing records in 2009.

Davis and Wolf signed with the Brewers, who at 80-82, finished in third place in the NL Central, 11 games behind the first place Cardinals.  Similarly, Garland chose to sign with the fourth-place Padres, who finished 20 games out of first and Sheets signed with the last-place Athletics, who finished 22 games behind the Angels in the AL West.  To make matters worse, Marquis signed with the Nationals, who finished with the worst record in baseball.

Most free agents prefer to sign contracts that promise them big money, long-term security or the chance to play for a contender.  None of the pitchers listed above signed for anything near the amount of money given to this year’s top free agent pitcher, John Lackey.  Not only that, the teams who signed them were able to do so without investing too many years in them.

Why did those pitchers prefer to sign short-term deals with losing teams for reasonable dollars?  Isn’t Citi Field known as a pitcher’s park?  Why wouldn’t they want to come here where they can pitch in a spacious ballpark and put up good numbers so they can earn a fatter contract the next time they become free agents?

I guess word has gotten around that the Mets are no longer one of those teams that players would jump at the opportunity to play for.  They’d rather play for other second-division teams than the one currently playing in Flushing.  It’s a sad indication that this team is not going in the right direction.  They’re not doing enough to put a team on the field that can compete with the Phillies, Marlins and Braves.  Heck, even the Nationals have been making noise in the free agent market.

When the Mets signed Jason Bay last month, we thought it would be the beginning of many press conferences announcing new additions to the team that would help put them back into contention.  So far, that signing just looks like a piece of bubble gum placed over a leak in the Hoover Dam.  It served to hold things up temporarily, but as these other free agents are finding new addresses that do not begin with the letters N and Y, the dam is going to break and the fans are going to let their displeasure flood Citi Field.  Of course, that’s assuming the fans will even go to Citi Field…

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, tweeted that Jon Garland will get a one-year, $4.7 million contract from the Padres, but according to Rotoworld, the deal is actually worth at least $5.3 million, because a $6.75 million mutual option for 2011 includes a $600,000 buyout.

It sounds like a great deal for the Padres who are getting themselves an established workhorse who will give them quality innings.

Since becoming a full-time starter in 2002, Garland has averaged 32.4 starts and 2051/3 innings pitched over eight seasons, with a 107-87 record and 4.38 ERA. He’s pitched at least 200 innings in five of the last six seasons, including 204 last year.

Is there another pitcher available, with as good an ERA over the last eight seasons and that is a lock to make 30 starts in 2010 as Garland was?

My guess is no.

Minaya is still trying to strike a deal with free-agent catcher Bengie Molina and has turned attention in recent days to a starting pitching pool that includes Ben Sheets, Joel Pineiro and Jon Garland.

Based on many of the reports that are circulating, Pineiro is looking for a three-year deal worth between $30-$35 million dollars, while Garland could settle for something similar to the two-year deal that Jason Marquis got with the Nationals.

Ben Sheets, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, has refused to throw for any interested teams which seems kind of odd considering he is demanding a $12-15 million dollar deal. I could see this blowing up in some team’s face, and I hope it’s not us.

Although not mentioned in the Post article, Chien-Ming Wang who is ready to begin a throwing program in February, could be an option as well.

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, predicts that the Mets will sign Pineiro and writes,

Pineiro might be the best available starting pitcher, at least considering only those who were healthy in 2009.  Maybe given the lack of bidders the Mets could get him on a two-year deal.

Also, Mike Francesa announced today on WFAN, that he would be revealing yet another significant move by the Mets later in his show this evening.

Could this be for one of the aforementioned starters?

Anybody care to guess?