Matsuzaka Somehow On Verge Of Making Rotation

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— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) March 24, 2014

Despite an extremely strong Spring Training from Jenrry Mejia, it seems as though the Mets are leaning towards using Daisuke Matsuzaka as their fifth starter for at least the beginning of the regular season.

From the link to Adam Rubin's ESPNNY blog:

There are business factors perhaps influencing the decision. Those factors potentially include the organization being able to delay Mejia’s arbitration eligibility by a year if he remains in the minors for the first month of the season. 

A resolution should be known soon. The Mets would need to pay Matsuzaka $100,000 on Tuesday at noon to retain him if they do not guarantee him an Opening Day roster spot by then. 

This is why fans get so frustrated with this Mets team. Every decision is influenced by "business factors", which is a nifty code word for trying to find a way to maximize the profits from every scenario while paying par less attention to putting the best possible product on the field. Matsuzaka is a known quantity, and at that a quantity known to not be all that good. With the "90 wins" talk and the relegation of the Opening Day start to Dillon Gee with Jon Niese's injury, it seems as though this staff could use the infusion of a young, talented arm in Mejia, but the team sees dollar signs. Again, competing can wait when there is money to be saved.