[Illusion]

The New York Mets have turned to the Pittsburgh Pirates to boost their suddenly struggling pitching staff.

The Mets acquired left-hander Oliver Perez and reliever Roberto Hernandez from the Pirates in exchange for outfielder Xavier Nady on Monday, a source told ESPN.com's Keith Law.

The need to bolster the staff intensified when the Mets lost right-handed setup man Duaner Sanchez for the season to a separated pitching shoulder, ESPN's Steve Phillips confirmed.

Sanchez, 26, was reportedly injured while riding as a passenger in a taxi that was involved in a car accident Sunday night after the Mets landed in Miami. He returned to New York to undergo surgery on Monday.

In 49 appearances this season, he was 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA, and opposing hitters are batting only .223 against him.

Perez was 2-10 with a 6.63 ERA in 15 starts before being sent down to Triple-A in June. In 2004, he was 12-10 with a 2.99 ERA but hasn't been the same since.

Nady has a career-high 14 home runs this season since coming over to the Mets from the Padres in an offseason trade.

[Bulldog]

Thanks for the post Ill.
I dont know about you guys, I know you can never get enough pitching but Nady was having a solid year...
Hernandez is iffy at best and Perez's ERA is huge...
Bad move for the Metropolitans imo...

[Illusion]

Sanchez's injury is the main reason New York made this deal.

[Razz]

If the Mets don't make Heilman a starter - they should - then he should be the primary setup man, and Hernandez should be the 7th inning guy or some smaller role. I don't know where Perez fits.

[jesterson]

If the Mets don't make Heilman a starter - they should - then he should be the primary setup man, and Hernandez should be the 7th inning guy or some smaller role. I don't know where Perez fits.

I agree about heilman, he should probably be the setup guy..but hernandez "earned" a shot at it by his performance last year and with a 14 game lead, he'll get it. If he does well, then Heilman becomes the 7th, 6th, and perhaps even some 5th inning outs in crunch time. Let me tell you, it absolutely bites that Sanchez had to pull a Glavine and get into a taxi accident.

They could've done worse than Perez, he's got potential (4:1 K/BB, 2.98/1.15 ERA/WHIP 2 years ago) and the Mets need young starters. Either Perez or Pelfrey hang in the minors til September so Milledge can come up and take Nady's offensive spot while platooning with Endy Chavez (more Milledge, I bet though).

Definitely not a bad trade, especially considering the immediate need for a bullpen arm and looking toward the future with a young starter. Nady was overachieving offensively, and was the 7th or 8th place hitter recently. His defense was average at best...if he ever hits 15 homers again I'll be surprised. It's all a waiting game now, and with a 15 game lead they can afford to mess around with it to see what works best. Good deal.