OK, so we learned yesterday that several Major League teams are interested in Angel Pagan.
The White Sox, it has been reported, are looking for a center fielder and a leadoff hitter and would prefer to fill their offseason needs with trade acquisitions over free agents, since they can’t add much payroll.
The Mets, we know, need starting pitching depth and could look to fill that need via trade.
The White Sox, meanwhile, have Jake Peavy, Mark Buerhle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Freddy Garcia set to be in their rotation next year.
Beyond that, they have 26-year-old Carlos Torres, who started five ineffective games for their big-league club last season but dominated Triple-A.
I don’t think Torres is enough to get a deal done, even if the Mets severely undervalue Pagan due to his mental hiccups. So maybe the White Sox throw in a member of their reasonably deep bullpen, like, I don’t know, say D.J. Carrasco.
Carrasco fits the mold of former Mets’ bullpen targets in that his success appears to be unsustainable based on his high WHIP, plus he brings the Jorge Sosa factor of experience pitching in many different situations.
Is that a reasonable deal? Angel Pagan for Carlos Torres and D.J. Carrasco? I’m not asking if you’d do it — I wouldn’t — only if it seems like something that could happen.
And for kicks, I’ll put it this way, with appropriately vague language:
The White Sox are looking for an inexpensive center fielder and leadoff hitter and could be interested in Angel Pagan. The Mets would likely seek pitching depth in return, possibly in the form of Triple-A righty Carlos Torres and versatile reliever D.J. Carrasco.
Tedquarters 
This will be headlining ESPN’s rumor central link by 7 a.m. tomorrow.
Holy jumpin! You get on the horn with the boys down in layout. I’ll notify the Associated Press. We hooked ourselves a big one, we did!
The Mets aren’t really looking for pitching depth; they’re looking for a legit #2. We have plenty of starters, they’re just unreliable and/or mediocre (outside of Santana).
A more realistic rumor would be something along the lines of Pagan + prospect(s) to the Reds for Arroyo/Harang.
Great point about the Mets needing something more certain. Problem with the Reds is they don’t appear to need Pagan — they’ve got Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Johnny Gomes, Chris Dickerson and Wladimir Balentein, all of whom are probably as good as or more promising than Pagan.
What they do need, however, is a shortstop. The White Sox just signed Omar Vizquel to be a backup, plus third baseman Gordon Beckham is a shortstop by trade. Maybe the Mets add Ruben Tejada, and Alexei Ramirez goes to the Reds in a three-way deal?
Keep in mind, we’re dealing with the Reds here. This is the team that let Willy Taveras and his ungodly .559 OPS start everyday while Drew Stubbs was actually getting on base in AAA.
If the Reds genuinely like Pagan, none of the Reds outfielders (outside of Bruce) are unbenchable.
How about this: Pagan, Tejada, Josh Stinson and cash for Harang. Who says no?
White Sox also have Teahan now and Kenny Williams suggested that Teahan might play 3rd which would move Beckham 2nd and keep Ramirez at SS. I think they like Alexei too much to trade him.
If you want a three way (and who doesn’t), how about this: Padres get Pagan and Daniel Valencia (Twins AAA). Twins get Kevin Kouzmanoff and Josh Stinson. Mets get Fransisco Liriano.
Pads supposedly want to move Headley back to 3rd. This opens up left field for either Pagan or Will Venable. They also get a decent prospect in Valencia. Twins get a 3rdbaseman which they’ve desperately needed for a few years now. They should be willing to give up Valencia because Kouzmanoff will being playing his position. Mets get Liriano who had a down year but his BABIP was a little high so he should return to being, at the very least, average. Not to mention, it would be fun to reunite the Santana, LIriano 1-2 punch the Twins had a few years back. Liriano may not be the #2 the Mets need, but he’s probably better than Jon Garland or Jason Marquis and it would be nice to get a guy with a little upside instead of say, Henry Blanco.
Arroyo or Harang would be a great help to the Mets!