What a perfect Mets trade deadline looks like
Two years ago, after the first half of the season, the New York Mets were one of the best teams in baseball, sitting at 58-35. But things slowly fell apart, and they lost the lead in the National League East with five games remaining in the season to their rivals, the Atlanta Braves. That ended up carrying over into the next season, and one year later at the halfway mark, they were 42-48 and 18.5 games back in the East, in fourth place. The Mets were a massive disappointment.
The Mets were supposed to be one of the teams to beat last season. They had gone out and spent $420 million to put together a team that fell way short of expectations. Instead of being competitive enough to make additions before the MLB Trade Deadline to get better, they became quick sellers and sent off two of their biggest pitching assets in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
Fast forward to the present, just before the halfway mark of the 2024 season, and the Mets are in the thick of things in the National League with a 36-39 record and now 2.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot. It’s fair to say after the last two seasons, that’s a place no one thought they would be in. Yet now they have a 40 percent chance of making the playoffs, increasing their chances by over 22 percent in the last month, per Baseball Reference.
pic.twitter.com/lBDbbnuZOH
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 20, 2024
Whether you want to put the onus of their recent success on the McDonald’s character Grimace or not, the Mets have turned their season around in June, really thanks to guys like Francisco Lindor and JD Martinez. They’ve gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and are overall 12-6 during the month as of this writing. Blame poor play in the National League all you want, but regardless, the Mets’ bit of resurgence as of late has put them in a position to become buyers before the MLB Trade Deadline. Here’s how they can make meaningful additions to this year’s team.
Will the Mets add and subtract at the MLB Trade Deadline?
Again, not many expected this year’s Mets team to be in a meaningful spot to make the playoffs near the trade deadline. Then again, maybe they didn’t expect the National League to be as bad as it’s been. Most of their intentions for competing had been geared toward the future—probably 2025 and beyond—so that means they were likely looking to be sellers this season.
There’s some good reasoning behind their seller mindset, at least. One, no one quite expects this team, even if they did make the playoffs, to really go far, though stranger things have happened. Two, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are both set to become free agents at the end of the year, while Sean Manaea could turn down his $13 million player option for next season. This puts the Mets in a peculiar position.
According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets would be willing to move off these guys in favor of going with a returning Kodai Senga, Christian Scott, and Jose Butto. All three have had their moments for the team, especially Senga, who is the clear ace of the rotation. But would the Mets really go after another starting pitcher, one they could have more long-term?
Let’s say if they did, whether they hold on to current rotation guys or not, the one that probably makes the most sense for the team at this juncture is Erick Fedde from the Chicago White Sox.
Fedde is an interesting story. He had quite the ups and downs while with the Washington Nationals for six seasons. He spent last season in Korea, which led him to the White Sox this season, where he has been one of the few shining spots for the team. He currently boasts a 3.05 ERA in 16 starts and 94.1 innings pitched. He’s issued 24 walks, allowed 10 homers, and struck out 86 batters.
What the Mets would really like about Fedde, though, is his contract. The White Sox signed him for just $7.5 million this season and next. Not that money has been an issue for the Mets in the past, especially with their pitchers, but they would likely take a pitcher making quality starts at such a low price tag. Grimace is still said to be unavailable.
Getting left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks from the Colorado Rockies
Anytime you’re talking about improving for the postseason, one of the most likely sought-after pieces for any team is adding to their respective bullpens. A team’s bullpen can make or break a team in the postseason, and to be truthful, that’s where the Mets could use some help.
However, in saying that, the Mets actually boast the 11th-best ERA in the league so far this season at 3.52 and are 22nd in saves with 17. But where they could use some help is adding another lefty to the bullpen, as there is nothing much outside Jake Diekman, who has pitched in 31 games and sports a 3.86 ERA. Brooks Raley is out for the season.
The difficult part is finding lefty relievers. Well, there’s one on a really bad Rockies team right now if they’d be willing to part with him. And really, why wouldn’t they be? He’s only under a one-year deal for $1.675 million this season with Colorado, so that means if the Mets did go after him, he’d be a rental, though they could re-sign him to a new deal if he works out.
Currently, Beeks is boasting a 3.38 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched. He’s given up 14 earned runs, four homers, and 16 walks while striking out 29. He also has six saves and five holds. Again, the rental aspect isn’t ideal, but he’s still cheap and one of the few good lefties likely to be on the market.
The post What a perfect Mets trade deadline looks like appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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