Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets, “The Mets believe that Cubs GM Jim Hendry is very open to trading Ted Lilly. Seem more interested in adding a starter than reliever.”

So could the New York Mets add Lilly to their rotation soon?

The Mets are actively pursuing front-of-the-rotation help, with Cliff Lee being their number one target. It’s possible that they are keeping their eyes on Lilly in the event that they cannot acquire Lee.

The Mariners want young and Major League ready players in exchange for Lee, and the Mets may not want to part with what they are asking. Earlier this week, it was believed that the Mariners wanted at least three of the Mets top prospects. It’s likely the two teams will continue to negotiate all the way down to the wire until one team budges.

If the Mets and Mariners cannot see eye-to-eye then it may be better off for the Mets to go after plan B – in this case Lilly.

Lilly is a potential free agent after the season and there may be some difficulty in trading him since he has no-trade protection, but as long as the Mets are in it by July 31st, then it likely that Lilly will waive his no-trade clause in order to make a run at the playoffs.