Huh? Tom Glavine, Hot Commodity?

I completely missed this one from Jayson Stark's trade deadline Rumblings & Grumblings.

So, looking for a big name? How about this one:

GM Omar Minaya keeps saying the Mets plan to be buyers, not sellers. But when an official of one club that has spoken with the Mets was asked if Glavine could be had, he replied: "Yes. Absolutely."

There is, however, one major hang-up: Glavine has a complete no-trade clause. And one baseball man who knows him well says that means you can cross all of the West and Central teams in each league off his list. In fact, he says, it's very possible the only places Glavine would say yes to are Boston and Atlanta.

And then come two more issues: Glavine also is 119 innings away from vesting an option for next year at $10 million (and he could guarantee that option at $8 million with only 79 more innings). And his ERA is currently over 5.00, even in a pitcher's park.

But he's still a two-time Cy Young winner whose 300-win countdown stands at 34. And when measured against the other names that could be out there, it's easy to envision that a team or two looking to make a splash might not care much about the small print.

So Glavine could easily evolve into the biggest name on the market – as soon as the Mets decide how they want to approach that market. And in a market like this, we can use all the marquee names we can scrape up.

Glavine could easily evolve into the biggest name on the market? I'm sure he would love to get his ass out of New York, which has been an unmitigated disaster for him. Though Stark says Boston and Atlanta are probably the only two teams he would consider, I'm not 100% sure that would be the case if teams came calling, but do people really want him?

Maybe I'm selling him a bit short. He is Playoff Proven™ and he has been very solid in 11 of his 15 starts. In the 11 starts that he made it through at least six innings, he has a 2.90 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP as opposed to a 16.07 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP in the four games he made an early exit. For a team looking for a starter, maybe he is an attractive target.

Of course the option is a sticking point and his inning total will be cutting it close. However, would a team be more willing to bite if the Mets offered to pay a percentage of his 2006 option if it does vest? If Omar Minaya could turn Tom Glavine into some solid prospects or a young player to plug into this club, that would be a miracle. Could it happen?