Catalanotto has always been valuable because of his versatility.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Rangers have officially informed Andruw Jones that he has made the team, and Frank Catalanotto is going to be cut because of it. The Rangers are out of roster spots and the fact that Catalanotto hit just .317 this spring didn’t do enough to help his case. Now the superman will get the chance to resurrect his career with another team, and who would be better than the Metropolitans of New York to take him in.

I know what the argument against it is. He is coming off of a couple of down years in which he hit just .260 and then .274 in limited action. But that beats the hell out of Marlon Anderson’s lack of production any day. The Mets can probably try to dangle Anderson, and if they find no takers, they can waive him to the minors. If he gets claimed, then so be it, but Catalanotto would definitely be much more of a help to this team. We are talking about a guy who has a .292 career batting average. In 2001, he batted .330 and he has batted over .300 four different times. His versatility makes him a positive asset to this team, and it is worth cutting Anderson loose.

Imagine it now. He can back up first, second, left, center, right and I think he has even caught a few times in his career. He could serve as the emergency catcher so Carlos Delgado’s nightmares finally stop. Either way, this is a move that the Mets would be smart to make if he comes on the cheap. Look for a team to act quick, and hopefully, he will be in Citifield when the season gets underway next week.