A major league source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that the Mets thought a five-year offer to John Lackey would be riskier than a four-year offer to Jason Bay. “We liked Lackey,” said Mets general manager Omar Minaya during his team’s game with the Red Sox, Thursday. “We thought Lackey was probably the best starting pitcher out there.  As for as Bay, we thought we needed a power hitter. Give Boston credit, they were aggressive. At the time of the winter meetings we talked to both of them and they were very aggressive going after Lackey. I’ll give them credit. They liked the guy, they went after him right away.”

Bay also offered his opinion of the signing. “You look at it now and it’s genius,” Bay said Thursday. “Look at that pitching staff and it’s ridiculous. But at the time it didn’t look like there was a need. But it was a great move.

Minaya did not see the issues with Bay’s defense as did the Red Sox and many other teams in the majors. He believes his defense may have slipped while in Boston because of the green monster and its difficulties.

I just can’t see how a team that lacks pitching depth after the 1 and 2 spots would not be more aggressive after a guy like Lackey. This year is probably a make or break year for Minaya, and with the obvious lack of pitching depth, I am surprised by the lack of moves Minaya made. There are some arms still available that would be an upgrade to the starting rotation (John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez) and to the bullpen (Joe Beimel) as well. With that said, I do not see the Mets adding either Smoltz or Martinez and think Beimel is out of their price league right now. But with no job, Beimel could slowly be coming into their price range.