Two closers can be had, both are at very different point in their career, and both could help the Mets.
On one hand, we have a 41-year-old who has notched 554 saves in his career, all but two coming for one team. He's a six time All Star, with a career 2.78 ERA.
On the other hand, there's a 25-year-old former Rookie of the Year. He's notched 94 saves in four years, but is coming off of two sub-par years in which he's lost his closing duties. He sports a 2.88 career ERA.
Player one is Trevor Hoffman. The San Diego Padres and Hoffman have been negotiating on a contract for their old closer, but Buster Olney is reporting the Pads have pulled their offer and will not bring Hoffman back.
San Diego was offering Hoffman $4 million, plus incentives for the 2009 season. If the Mets match that, just for one year, I'd be willing to see how much he has left in the tank. I know he's not going to blow people away, but he has the mental mettle to pitch in the 9th inning. He's definitely worth at least a look.
Player two is Huston Street. As part of the Matt Holliday to Oakland trade, Huston is now the property of the Colorado Rockies. A hefty trade would be in order, but I've heard the Rockies linked to Aaron Heilman before, and maybe throwing in Nick Evans (since he had some great games against them) and another player would be enough to get it done.
He's much younger than Hoffman, but has struggled lately, with 16 and 18 saves the last two seasons. We know he can handle the pressure of closing, but something may be wrong with his mechanics. I haven't seen him throw enough to gauge what may be wrong, but with the coaching staff the Mets have in place, especially with Dan Warthen being used to teaching young players, I think the Mets should take a shot at bringing him over and locking him up for a few years.
Of all the holes the Mets need to fill in the bullpen, closer is their No. 1 priority. These are two very different players, as Hoffman would be more of a one-year stopgap, while Street, if traded for, could be a Met for years to come.
