None of these blokes were offered arbitration:

* Johnny Damon
* Andy Pettitte
* Hideki Matsui
* Xavier Nady
* Jose Molina

Each carries his share of baggage:

Damon can't throw and is a pretty bad fielder, even in left, though he's still quite valuable offensively.

Pettitte is old and doesn't have very good peripherals, but he's dependable and left-handed.

Matsui can no longer play the field at all, really; he'd be useful off the bench if he were willing to settle for that.

Nady is a nice fourth outfielder/spot-starter, but he rarely walks, is shoddy defensively, and isn't nearly as good as Mets fans like to think.

The Mets already have nine backup catchers, which means they're probably finalizing a two-year deal with Molina as we speak.