Mets discussing trade for Indians' RHP Fausto Carmona

It appears as though the Mets have been internally discussing a trade for Westbrook's teammate Fausto Carmona, who I will be writing about on 6/23. It couldn't come at a better time, as I just finished writing the capsule on Jake Westbrook.

According to MLBTradeRumors' Ben Nicholson-Smith:

"The Mets have discussed Fausto Carmona internally, but have not yet approached the Indians about acquiring the right-hander, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. (all Twitter links). Carmona, who is enjoying a resurgent season, makes a guaranteed $8.9MM through 2011 at which point the Indians have three consecutive club options. As Olney notes, the affordable options through 2014 make Carmona appealing as long as he is pitching well.

That has certainly been the case so far in 2010. The former 19-game winner has a 3.31 ERA in 92.1 innings with 5.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Carmona has always been a ground ball pitcher, rather than a strikeout pitcher, and he has a robust 57% ground ball rate that has helped him keep the ball in the park (six homers allowed).

The Mets are looking for top starters, but are unsure that Carmona will adjust smoothly to the pressures of playing in New York, according to an article Olney wrote over the weekend. If they prefer to acquire a veteran on the brink of free agency, they could look to Carmona's teammate, Jake Westbrook, or others such as Kevin Millwood and Ben Sheets."

So it appears as though the Mets are working on putting together a deal for Carmona, but also may trade for Westbrook. The Mets may be looking at Carmona because of his lesser salary of about $4 million to Westbrook's $11 million, his age, 26, as well as his resurgence as a top pitcher. What do you think the Mets should do? Who should they give up? Discuss it in the comments. No matter what happens, we'll have it all here for you!