Kris

Benson

Kris Benson and Wells, two hard throwers, are followed by Josh Fogg, Jeff Suppan and Jeff D’Amico, who are finesse pitchers. The idea is to put one of the three soft-tossers in between Benson and Wells to give opponents a different look during a series. GM Dave Littlefield, manager Lloyd McClendon and pitching coach Spin Williams are all in agreement. The move should have no visible effect on fantasy value.

No formal offers were exchanged, but the sides ultimately figure to agree to a three-year deal with an option for a fourth season based on innings pitched. “I’m sure they’ll work it out,” Benson said.

Benson is on track to return Thursday at Florida.

Though the sides aren’t close to an agreement on the amount of money, all signs point toward Benson (4-4, 4.50 ERA as a Met) returning.

Talks should heat up after the Mets settle on a manager.

That’s just too much. With all the other pitching on the market, we find it hard to believe that anyone else would be willing to give Benson $8 million per year. The Mets’ initial offer of $21 million over three years was generous enough. If GM Omar Minaya was patient, Benson would have ended up accepting it.

It appears that the Mets are willing to pay Benson $7 million per year. He’s unlikely to get that much from any other team, so it’s still likely that Benson will stay in New York.

Benson, tonight’s starter, is coming off the shortest outing of his career. Leave him active.

Benson will be healthy in spring training and the Pirates will give him one more chance to head up their rotation.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what’s going to happen over the next couple of weeks. I hear things are going to develop more over the weekend,” Benson said Friday morning after throwing a four-inning simulated game. “I trust what my agent tells me.” Gregg Clifton has informed his client that five teams are interested in trading for him. Four of those teams are believed to be the Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals and Braves. The Red Sox are also supposed to be interested, but they’re already paying $5 million for their fifth starter. The Phillies also seem very unlikely to make a strong bid for Benson. If Benson is dealt, the Pirates could get a young pitcher who would move right into their rotation. The alternative would be to give the fifth spot to Ryan Vogelsong or Sean Burnett.