Mets continue to hire putzes for the bullpen.

At least they got rid of Aaron Heilman. From Newsday:

The Mets' rapid makeover of the bullpen continued late Wednesday night as they completed a three-team trade with the Mariners and Indians to acquire J.J. Putz in a 12-player deal. Only hours after announcing a three-year, $37-million with Francisco Rodriguez, general manager Omar Minaya secured another elite closer, only this time to use as a set-up man for Rodriguez.

In the complicated swap, the Mets sent six players to the Mariners, including Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Double-A first baseman Mike Carp, lefthander Jason Vargas and prospects Maikel Cleto and Ezequiel Carrera. They also shipped reliever Joe Smith to the Indians, who acquired infielder Luis Valbuena from Seattle, and the Mets picked up Putz from Seattle along with righthander Sean Green and outfielder Jeremy Reed. The Mariners also received Cleveland outfielder Franklin Gutierrez.

While the Mets' main target this offseason was K-Rod, they also had their eyes on Putz, who had 15 saves in 47 appearances for the lowly Mariners last season. In the two previous seasons, however, Putz, 31, had a combined 76 saves, including a career-high 40 in 2007. Putz will earn $5 million this season with an $8.6-million option for 2010.

By the way, this is a real gem from Omar:

"All I kept hearing on the streets of New York when I go get bagels in the morning was 'Omar, address the bullpen,'" Minaya said. "Well, to you Mets fans, we've addressed the bullpen. To win championships, you've got to have a good bullpen."

So Minaya didn't realize the bullpen is abysmal until the bagel guy told him? That explains a lot.