MMO will be looking at multiple bargain options that are still available for the Mets this offseason. With Sandy Alderson reportedly having about $10 million left to spend, the Mets best chance to fill holes will be shopping at the dollar store.

Earlier this offseason, Mets general manager John Ricco let on that the team would be “big players” this offseason, as they looked to fill holes around the diamond.

Fast forward a month and a half later and things have taken a complete 180, in typical Mets fashion. What was once reported that general manager Sandy Alderson would have somewhere between $30-40 million to spend is no longer. Instead, Alderson will have a fraction of that to work with, with the only signing he’s made this offseason being reliever Anthony Swarzak on a two-year, $14 million deal.

Alderson is going to have to get crafty with his limited funds. On Tuesday, my colleague Josh Finkelstein highlighted veteran Brandon Phillips as a bargain option for second base. On Wednesday, I wrote about Tim Lincecum as a dollar store starting pitcher option and yesterday Michael Mayer touched on former Met Oliver Perez being a potential second LOOGY option.

In November, new Mets skipper Mickey Callaway spoke about helping resurrect Matt Harvey‘s career. The player he compared him to was Ubaldo Jimenez.

While Jimenez has been a far cry from the 19-8, 2.88 ERA and Cy Young Award winner of 2010, he did have success under Callaway’s tutelage in 2013.

That year, he went 13-9, with a 3.30 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.330 WHIP and a career high 9.6 K/9.

“Matt is obviously a guy that’s had great success, and needs a little bit of direction right now,” the new manager told John Harper of the New York Daily News last month. “And I’ve been around a guy like that, Ubaldo Jimenez.

“It seems like a very similar case. You just get confused in what’s going on and you’re not sure how to right the ship. And it can be a very simple process.”

Comparing Jimenez to Harvey is also like comparing apples to oranges, considering the reason the latter has struggled is due to injury However, I get where Callaway is coming from. Maybe bringing Jimenez to Queens and having him reunite with the new Mets manager and work with Dave Eiland could help give New York a serviceable starter to lengthen their rotation.

At 34-years-old and coming off a rough season that saw him pitch to a 6-11 record with a 6.81 ERA over 31 games (25 started), Jimenez will likely receive a one-year deal, or even potentially a minor league deal on the open market.

It seems increasingly more likely that the Mets are going to have to sign guys from the bargain bin this Winter, hence the “Shopping at the Dollar Store” series of articles us here at MMO have created.

With reportedly only $10 million to spend, and starting pitching a need I believe is of utmost importance to bolster, I would like to see the Mets bring a few guys like Ubaldo Jimenez to camp this Spring. Another guy I mentioned in my last article of this series, Tim Lincecum, is another player I’d like to see New York bring on for a short-term or minor league deal.