Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com says that the Mets owe it to their fans to add another pitcher in addition to their No. 1 and No. 2 Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey.

O’Connor says, “(COO Jeff) Wilpon needs to make something crystal clear to his general manager, Omar Minaya. In the coming weeks, when the Astros and Mariners cry uncle and begin shopping Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee for real, Wilpon has to send Minaya into the marketplace with the understanding that the Mets will pay for that third elite starter required to reach October and beyond.”

Neither Wilpon or Minaya would comment on their intentions to acquire a starting pitcher.

Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine says, “The Mets are within two games of first place, and what’s great for them, going forward, is that the trade market is shaping up in a great way for them. There will be lots of starting pitching available, whether it’s Roy Oswalt or (perhaps) Cliff Lee or Ben Sheets or Jake Westbrook or Fausto Carmona or Kevin Millwood or Ted Lilly — and so it’ll be a buyers’ market as the Mets look for a pitcher.”