Dan Graziano of the Star Ledger reports that the Mets have asked about Dontrelle Willis, Ben Sheets, and Roy Oswalt and were told none of them are available. The Mets also have interest in Bartolo Colon and continue to view Livan Hernandez as a secondary pitcher after they try to land a front end starter. The Phillies, Cardinals, Nationals, and Astros have interest in Livan as well.

Omar Minaya is set to meet with Octavio Dotel and Shawn Chacon agents today.

Considering the landscape of this free agent market, this year could be the biggest off-season of trades in quite some time.

Johan Santana, Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Scott Rolen, and Miguel Tejada are among those who could be seeing a change in scenery this winter.

In terms of Santana, Jayson Stark on ESPN writes that the Mets might be the team most willing to give up the prospects needed to get him.

One NL executive says: Watch out for the Mets, given the pressure on GM Omar Minaya to win now.

“Omar seems determined to make a huge splash,” the exec says. “And I think that’s the guy they’ve had earmarked all along.”

The Dodgers, Angels, Yankees, and Mets would appear to be the top teams in the running for Santana.

The Yankees don’t appear willing to deal Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, or Phillip Hughes, which would likely put they out of the running for Santana.

The Dodgers would need to make a choice on who to use their prospects on, Cabrera or Santana. Buster Olney on ESPN cites a NL source who said that the Dodgers and Marlins are ‘pretty far apart’ on Cabrera. Olney writes that ‘there is growing expectation around the game is that the Angels will land Cabrera’.

However Rosenthal believes the Angels no longer are the front-runners for Cabrera.

Rosenthal cites major-league sources who say, if the Dodgers are willing to part with outfielder Matt Kemp along with third baseman Andy LaRoche and Class AA left-hander Clayton Kershaw, they would likely be able to land the Marlins All-Star third baseman.

If the Dodgers fail to land Cabrera, they are rumored to have interest in Scott Rolen as well.

Jayson Stark believes it will take two young players to get Dontrelle Willis. The Mets, Mariners and Diamondbacks are believed to have interest.

The Orioles want to get rid of the $26 million left on Miguel Tejada’s contract which does not leave many suitors. The Dodgers and Angels may use Tejada as plan B if they lose out on Cabrera. The O’s are also rumored to be shopping Erik Bedard.

The Reds may make Ryan Freel or Scott Hamilton available due to the emergence of minor league player of the year Jay Bruce.

The Pirates could offer 26-year old Ian Snell who has more quality starts (22) than Santana or Roy Oswalt and a better strikeout rate (7.66 per 9 innings) than Carlos Zambrano or Ben Sheets.

The Phillies are looking at Randy Wolf, Matt Clement, Kris Benson, Mike Wood, and Japanese free agent Hiroki Kuroda.

Buster Olney on ESPN writes that the Mets need a reliable innings eater this season that can consistantly take games into the seventh or even the eight inning, however it will be extremely difficult to land one.

Olney thinks Carlos Silva is the best pitcher available on the free agent market, but will command a deal worth about $40 million.

Big names like Johan Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Roy Oswalt are available via trade but the Mets don’t have quite the level of prospects that teams would be seeking in return. Baseball executives are mixed on their evaluation of Lastings Milledge, and while many are high on Carlos Gomez, the Mets seem reluctant to offer him in any deal. Mike Pelfrey and Phillip Humber are viewed as 4th or 5th starters or relievers. Aaron Heilman would be someone Olney considers a valuable trade chip, but the Mets are coming off a season where their bullpen seems to require an upgrade. Olney believes a deal to acquire Joe Blanton is most likely.

Olney also predicts that the Mets will offer Jorge Posada a four year deal, which depending on how much the Yankees are willing to spend to retain Posada, could bring the 35 year old catcher to Queens.