What began with glimmer of hope, that sank to the deepest spots, has now began to climb out of the hole that was dug. The rough offseason for the New York Mets began with the loss of Jose Reyes to the newly christened Miami Marlins. Instead of siting idly by, General Manager Sandy Alderson used that money to acquire some new pieces to help sure up a bullpen that struggled mightily after the trade of closer Francisco Rodriguez during the All-Star break. None of the pieces that were acquired were quite as flashy as the man they replace but still effective. Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, and Ramon Ramirez all have the task of strengthening a 'pen that consists of Tim Byrdak (aka Hulk Hogan), Pedro Beato, and Manny Accosta.

In January the Mets waived the once highly touted outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, after struggling to stay even remotely healthy for the past two seasons. Later in the month it was revealed that the team's financial struggles were even worse than previously thought. It seemed as though the team would be caught in the middle of a tug-of-war that would cost the Wilpon and Katz family millions of dollars.

February started out quiet but soon became tragic with the passing of Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter after a long battle with brain cancer (on a side note, please buy the "RIP Kid" t-shirts from our good friends at The 7 Line. All proceeds go to the Gary Carter Foundation). Things soon took a turn for the better with the first bullpen session Johan Santana threw. It marked the beginning of his comeback attempt since his last major league appearance in September of 2010. The diagnosis of Valley Fever for Ike Davis came as a shock to all. Many believed that it would be a similar situation to Conor Jackson. Jackson contracted the disease back in May of 2009 and has yet to reach the potential that he once showed. It still may affect Ike but after a full and successful spring it shows no signs of the disease.

It was not that successful of a spring for the Mets record wise. But with the successful springs of most of the starting rotation (outside of Mike Pelfrey) and a many of the lineup (except Jason Bay), the Mets may do better than many have predicted.

COMING SOON: Mets 2012 Season preview. Read More...

After a long day at work on Tuesday, I come home only to hear that closer Francisco Rodriguez has been traded away to the Milwaukee Brewers. My initial thoughts consisted of "Why would we do that? We're still in the Wild Card hunt." and "Uh-oh, here comes the fire sale." But after a few days of thinking about the deal, it actually makes sense. Here's why.

Reyes has become invaluable to this team in what could possibly be an MVP type season. Hitting .354 with 30 stolen bases, 15 triples, an on base percentage of just under .400 (.398) [that's a good thing], and slugging a shade under .530 (.529) Reyes will likely land a big contract somewhere including with the Mets now that there is no worry of K-Rod reaching his mark.

With the contracts of Rodriguez, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran all coming off the books, the organization can make a legitimate offer to Reyes.

But, the risk with that comes with this trade is that the bullpen becomes unsettled with no roles set for players like Bobby Parnell, Pedro Beato, Ryota Igarashi, and Jason Isringhausen. This could mean that the team falls out of contention and the fire sale begins. This is something that no fan ever wants to see. If that happens then the already slim turnout at Citi Field will become an empty cavern.

The K-Rod trade makes sense, but it will not be worth it if there is no payoff.