A month ago, the Mets looked like also-rans in the National League playoff picture. They followed up a 9-19 showing in the month of May with a pair of losses to begin June, but the Mets have since turned things around in dramatic fashion, going 16-6 over their past 22 games. Manager Carlos Mendoza’s squad is still a game under .500 and has minimal hope of catching the best-in-MLB Phillies (55-29), who lead the NL East by a margin of eight games over the Braves and 13.5 games ahead of New York. However, even at 40-41, the Mets are only two games out of the final spot for the final National League Wild Card spot.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that as things stand right now, the Mets are approaching the July 30 deadline with an eye toward adding to the team. President of baseball operations David Stearns tells Heyman that the bullpen, specifically, is an “area of the team we’re going to continue to monitor.”
Mets relievers rank 14th in the majors with a 3.77 earned run average. Both their 3.73 FIP and 3.47 SIERA rank more favorably among MLB clubs, and the Mets’ bullpen leads all of baseball with a 26.8% strikeout rate on the season. They’re not without their flaws, however. The bullpen in Queens has a 10.5% walk rate that ranks as the fifth-worst in MLB. The Mets also just lost righty Drew Smith to probable Tommy John surgery, and they’ve had an uneven season from closer Edwin Diaz. The Mets’ $102MM closer posted a 5.40 ERA in 20 innings before landing on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement, returned to rattle off three straight scoreless innings (three strikeouts, no walks) — but then was hit with a 10-game ban following a failed foreign substance check in his most recent appearance.
For much of the season, the focus on the Mets has been about who they might have to peddle to contending clubs at the deadline. Pete Alonso’s name, in particular, has been a hotly debated topic, though Heyman writes that as of this time, the slugger “isn’t going anywhere.” So long as the Mets remain in arm’s reach of a postseason bid — particularly with considerable momentum on their side after their play in the past three weeks — it seems they’ll avoid straight sell-side transactions.
That said, both Heyman and SNY’s John Harper suggest there’s room for the Mets to walk both paths. New York’s pitching depth is improving with Kodai Senga on the mend. The Mets have several starters on short-term deals — Luis Severino and Jose Quintana most notably. The Post’s Mike Puma reported yesterday that the Mets could look to move some veteran starters, knowing that Senga is progressing toward a return while top prospect Christian Scott and young righty Jose Butto continue to impress in the upper minors.
Among their short-term veterans, Severino would presumably have the most value but is also the least likely to change hands. The longtime Yankee hurler has posted a 3.42 ERA in a team-high 97 1/3 innings with strong walk (8%) and ground-ball (50%) rates. Severino has a career-low marks in strikeout rate (18.5%) and swinging-strike rate (8.3%), but his revamped, sinker-heavy approach has nonetheless yielded impressive results. Moving him would register as a surprise, given that he’s presumably viewed as a leading candidate to make playoff starts, alongside a hopefully healthy Senga.
Lefty Sean Manaea, too, can become a free agent at season’s end. There are different sorts of hurdles when it comes to trading him. The veteran southpaw has turned in a 3.89 ERA in 76 1/3 innings with a strong 23.6% strikeout rate but also a career-worst 10.6% walk rate. More concerning for interested teams than his walk rate, though, would be the lefty’s contract. He inked a two-year, $28MM contract over the winter, but the second season of that deal is a $13.5MM player option.
Broadly speaking, teams are reluctant to trade for players who have player options and/or opt-out clauses on their contracts. Those clauses are pure downside for the acquiring team. If the player performs well or exceeds expectations post-trade, he’s all but assured taking the out clause and becoming a free agent. If said player incurs an injury or performs poorly, the acquiring team could be stuck with an additional year(s) of the player on a contract that outpaces his market value. Effectively, if the player performs well post-trade, he becomes a rental. If he plays poorly or gets hurt, it becomes an underwater multi-year contract.
Of the team’s veteran starters, Quintana might be the most straightforward option to change hands. The 35-year-old has had some struggles this season, posting a 4.57 ERA and proving uncharacteristically susceptible to home runs (1.42 HR/9). Quintana has a below-average 18.1% strikeout rate but a sharp 8.1% walk rate. He’s kept the ball on the ground at a strong 44.5% clip.
Quintana has also pitched much better of late. An eight-run drubbing at the hands of the Rays back on May 3 represents nearly 20% of the lefty’s total earned runs this season. He’s allowed three or fewer runs in 13 of his 16 starts this season and owns a tidy 3.70 ERA over his past eight trips to the hill. Quintana is earning $13MM this season, with about $6.36MM of that sum yet to be paid out as of this writing. For the Mets, there’s some extra incentive to shed some of that salary; they’re paying a 110% tax on it because of their current luxury tax status. Though Quintana himself is only owed that remaining $6.36MM, trading him would save the Mets just shy of $13.5MM when factor in luxury tax considerations.
It bears emphasizing that there’s no indication the Mets view shedding a veteran starter as a necessity or even a likelihood. Being open-minded to that sort of move is nothing new for Stearns, who made several trades of big league players during his time atop the Brewers’ front office — even when the Brewers were in the midst of a contending season. And, as with most teams currently on the Wild Card bubble, the current mentality is presumably subject to change. The Mets played themselves into this spot with a torrid late-June showing, but it stands to reason that if the pendulum swings in the other direction and they lose several games in a row to fall considerably further back in the standings as the trade deadline draws nearer, they’d consider operating more as a conventional seller.
SFG will trade you Luke Jackson for a tub of sunflower seeds, and a snack to be named later.
More likely is SFG trades recently DFA Howard to NYM.
But if they could move Jackson and his entire salary that would be awesome. Guy probably needs a change of scenery and Giant fans are done with him.
Keep these kind of posts coming. It’s that time of year.
The Mets are interesting because they have the money to do whatever they want. But they sold at last years deadline and clearly didn’t expect to compete with the best of the best in 2024. But if you get in the playoffs anything can happen so if close like they are I could understand why they would want to go for it a bit. I imagine they will look for players that cost money not prospects. They prioritized prospects over money last trade deadline I expect the same even if they are buyers not sellers.
For the life of me, the way this team started out in the first 1.5 months, I had almost written them off they were playing so bad. It’s amazing really the way they have come together and gelled as a unit. Completely remarkable actually , for how bad they looked for awhile. And Mendoza was not inspiring, but maybe they’re winning despite him. They need pitching, and could trade for guys with substantial money left so they don’t have to really give up any hot prospects. Guys like Zach Eflin or Tyler Anderson etc
Efflin could be a good fit. His salary is going to turn off some teams.
I did write them off.
Lindor is having a run at a career-normal year despite a dire start. Pete is Pete. They seem to have actually hit on Vientos. Alvarez is back. Bader is at his 90% outcome. Marte is offensively himself.
Only dude I’m still worried about is McNeil. Seems to have just cratered in all facets.
Yes, I need to clarify that for the record…I wrote them off completely as well.
And nimmo another solid year now
They need pitching but not starters. Currently they have Sevy, Quintana, Manaea, Peterson locked into the rotation with Senga (if he’s ever ready), Megill, Scott, Butto, Lucchesi and even Houser if need be behind them. Not saying that’s a WS winning rotation but Eflin or some other #4 guy isn’t moving the needle. TBH if Senga is close I’d be fine to trade Quintana and plug in Senga and Scott (gotta mind his innings of course). Butto has done nothing but succeed at AAA as well as MLB too.
The key for the Mets is to replace Raley, Smith and Reid-Foley.
Trade Quintana if they’re sellers, but don’t expect much in return. If they’re buyers, they’ll need him
lol
My response as well. I’m a Mets fan and who are we kidding.
Their next 14 games leading up to the all star game are against sub .500 teams. If they’re not firmly in at least the third WC by then, they don’t deserve to ever be in the playoffs again.
They also have the third easiest schedule from this point on.
This recent run is probably the most fun it’s been to watch all year.
The Diamondbacks had a losing record as late as August 14th in 2023.
They got hot at the right time, squeaked into the playoffs with 84 wins and then knocked out the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies.
No team needs to be entrenched in a playoff spot by the all star game. Just get to the October dance and get hot.
@Slider: What a colossally dumb comment. Every team that qualifies for the postseason deserves it, and one year has nothing to do with other years.
Easy schedule? 7 of the Mets’ first 11 games in July are against the Nationals, who’ve called up their top prospect for his big-league debut. The other 4 are in Pittsburgh against the Buccos who are chasing a wild card just as the Mets are.
Stop it, Chucky….. both of those teams are sub-.500. The easiness of the schedule has been documented in numerous baseball columns.
And the Nationals are only 2 games behind the Mets starting play on Bobby Bonilla Day. Washington could finish 4th of July ahead of the Mets in the NL East.
Nothing is ever easy in baseball, just ask any Yankee fan.
Yes, but that would take Wash sweeping all four games. You’re taking the the most extreme and unlikely of all possible scenarios and acting like its a 50-50 chance of happening. And how convenient that you leave the Rockies out of your ‘analysis’. Of course nothing is easy in baseball. A team that goes 9-8 every 17 games all year long finishes with 86 wins, and the team that goes 8-9 finishes with only 76. Thats the hair that most teams are splitting.
But the bottom line is that the three teams the Mets face have a combined record of 107-142, and each of them has a losing record. Thats as easy as its going to get. WE all know results aren’t guaranteed, and thats why the game is played on the field, and not on the blog pages.
If they don’t go 13-1 or 12-2 minimum, they won’t make the playoffs this year nor for remainder of the 2020’s. This is a defining stretch of their history and their franchise.
Another colossally dumb comment by the Slider.
Swc
“If they don’t go 13-1 or 12-2 minimum, they won’t make the playoffs this year nor for remainder of the 2020’s.”
That’s definitely how things work. Yup.
That could be johnny utah or Mets in 7. Sounds like them.
The Mets offense looks pretty darn good. What they need is an ace and some pen help. Jordan Montgomery could be had in some sort of salary relief move. Chad Green makes sense.
Kodai Senga will be that ace come August.
And I wouldn’t touch Monty at any price. Subtraction by addition.
I think they’ll grab Devinski and make one more move for a second tier BP arm. Could see Megill moving to BP too and Scott/Butto coming to start.
Senga might be the ace but they still could use more rotation help. Montgomery played well in New York he could bounce back.
No reason not to make some moves if all they cost is money.
@Blackpink: their rotation help could be in the form of Senga, Butto, and Scott. Their most glaring need is the bullpen. They could use two solid arms. Not sure if they have that in the minors but what we’ve seen so far in the call ups says they don’t. Nunez has been a pleasant surprise but outside of that it has not been pretty.
@rct: Thats been the narrative, but its been overstated, IMO. Yes, those three would be upgrades over Quintana and Megill. But are they really enough to take the Mets deep into the playoffs? I don’t think so.
“But are they really enough to take the Mets deep into the playoffs? I don’t think so.”
The goal is just to make the playoffs and see what happens. The DBacks made the WS with Gallen (125 ERA+), Merrill (132 ERA+), and a bunch of average-to-bad starters. They don’t need to go crazy when they have some decent in-house options.
Don’t get me wrong, another starter would be great. But I don’t think they should trade a bunch of prospects for one. They need to focus on long-term, sustained success.
The bullpen is another story. It’s often a disaster. Right now Nunez and Houser have been their only good reliever recently, especially with SRF out. Maybe he comes back and continues pitching great. Maybe Diaz comes back and pitches great again. I think another pen arm or two would be great and possibly wouldn’t cost much in prospects.
Angels Tyler Anderson has been a good starter. Even has another year on his contract.
@aragon: Anderson is 34 and no better than Senga, Severino, Quintana, Peterson, or Scott.
Senga MIGHT be that ace. But thats not a given. Even with Senga, this team does not have the big-time #2 starter also needed to succeed in the playoffs.
Megill frequently struggles in the 1st inning, and his admittedly miniscule sample size as a reliever is poor. So I’m not sure that he would do well in the pen. The best role for him might be a depth piece on the Quad-A shuttle while Jeremy Hefner continues to ponder what he called Megill’s “inexplicable regression”.
Call the Tigers about Flaherty and a good bullpen arm like Foley. The Tigers need offense, a young SS and likely a young catcher. Parada and one of their 8 million young SS starts the convo.
Clearly if the Tigers sell Flaherty will be very popular. I just don’t know if the Mets are the right team for him.
Flaherty would be a fit especially if the Mets pay for his contract then they won’t need to give as much prospect capital
I could see him and Montgomery from Arizona as targets
Parada is looking a bit like a bust at the moment. Loved the pick but I think the Mets don’t hesitate to make that trade. Houck and Parada? (lol)
Esp because they’re playing w Monopoly money…
I wonder if Arizona won’t be buyers. Getting Gallen back helps their rotation immensely. Maybe they will make a play for Flaherty themselves.
I’ll be curious to see what they get for him. Some sites are talking teams top prospects. As long as the Tigers can fill at least one need (preferably SS) with a near ready asset I think it would be a win.
@ sad tormented: “especially if the Mets pay for his contract”…. WHAT contract? He’s on a 1-year, $14million deal that will have only $4.7 million left on it by deadline time. Any contending team will happily take on that cost to get him.. The Mets have no advantage on this one.
Arizona has had some bad luck this year. I don’t think they want to sell but if they don’t start playing well I think they will.
I really don’t know who Flaherty fits best for. He’s a west coast guy perhaps the Dodgers would be a good fit. Maybe the Brewers.
The Tigers really need offense, a SS who is close and probably a young catcher.
I doubt LA offers up their #1 prospect, Cartaya has really slipped and they don’t seem to have a SS who is close, although Joendry Vargas look interesting. Ive akwYs like Miguel Vargas too. Milwaukee has Tyler Black who would be a nice add for the offense but is supposedly a defensive liability. He’d at least be plug and play.
Atlanta has SS Nacho Alvarez and C Drake Baldwin who both are close and the hitting profile HRris/Greenberg seem to target. Not sure Atlanta would give them up in a deal.
Yeah what I mean by that is say a team like the rays wanted flaherty, it’s unlikely that they would want to pay that money
Mets have the Monopoly money so they could be on par with the low payroll high prospect farm teams
I think most teams are going to want jeremy rodriguez if looking for a long term answer at SS
Mets have an easy schedule the rest of the way, its certainly possible to stay ahead and grab a cheap WC spot. BUT they’re still a team in transition and need to act like it. Stearns is a guy I trust to handle this middle ground phase well, he kept the brewers in the hunt while managing the reality of their payroll. No such $ restrictions here but the mentality is the right one for keeping the team competitive now and still focused on the near future
The Mets and the Brewers are very different situations. If the Mets can add some help at the deadline that only costs money not prospects why wouldn’t they do it? As long as you protect the future then might as well take a chance and see.
What makes you think there is a move that “only costs money and not prospects” other than claiming someone on a DFA?
Well I think there are plenty of guys that while have value aren’t really worth their salaries. Jordan Montgomery comes to mind.
Montgomery is having a lost season thanks to hubris, so why in the world would they even want him?
Because he helped lead the Rangers to a world championship last year. He’s still in his prime. He has had success pitching in New York. And he’s overpaid so he could be had for just money not prospects.
@ Blackpink Starting to wonder what you’re taking….any player will require SOME kind of prospect return. Maybe its a low level prospect, or one with little expectation. But every trade for a bona fide major league starter will require some prospect return.
You’re also overlooking the reality that AZ is right in the race with the Mets, so don’t look like buyers right now. Couple that with the fact that they have a manager and players in the clubhouse who went through this last year, and they have more reason, not less, to try and stay in the race, not punt.
Right now, Montgomery is a crapshoot. I agree that his history of pitching well both in NY and the post-season are points in his favor. But they don’t come close to outweighing how badly he’s pitched this year.
The argument you should investigate for taking Montgomery is the ballpark differences.. is the desert air affecting his pitch movement? For what its worth, his road numbers are better. But they are still unfavorable.
If the player is making more than he’s worth a team can acquire him without giving up prospects. That is a fact.
Looks like Montgomery is on the IL now which obviously changes things. And no the Diamondbacks are not for sure sellers yet but they certainly could be if they don’t start playing better.
Yes, I saw the injury news and thought of this immediately.
That said, Oh, please stop it already. Yes, technically, according to the rules, it “can” happen. But it doesn’t happen for players of this ilk. It just does NOT. Just come back to reality.
Like I said, the player(s) sent back may be of little regard. But no team is just giving away a $25million player only a year removed from a great post-season for zero return.
Usually what would happen is the team would include money to improve the prospect return. But they don’t have to do that at all. Last year the Mets paid large amounts of Verlander and Scherzers salaries so they could get prospects back in the deals. Montgomery is overpaid even if he’s healthy which he isn’t now but was before this conversation started.
@ Blackpink… Well, now you’re just reaching, and your making a bad analogy to do it… – The Mets paid large amounts of those salaries so they could get back BETTER prospects in return – not ANY prospects. . You’re talking about getting Montgomery for NO prospect return. That is not the same, and it is not real.
I understand the principle you’re trying to promote here, and the thinking behind it. You don’t need to keep explaining it. But its just theory/principle, not reality. It simply does not happen.. If you want to keep pushing that narrative, then need to back it up with factual examples.
Saying “Usually what would happen” is a mischaracterization. It doesn’t happen often enough for there to be a “usually”. And when it does, it is with contracts that are bigger than Montgomery’s. Verlander and Scherzer had bigger remaining salaries than Monty last year alone, PLUS they had big money coming to them this year (and in Verlander’s case, next year).
You don’t have to trade away prospects in order to make a deadline trade. That’s a fact.
Blackpink:
Yes. That part is a fact. You don’t “have to”. We established that. But as I said two posts ago that:
“Yes, technically, according to the rules, it “can” happen. But it doesn’t happen for players of this ilk. It just does NOT. Just come back to reality.”
.
If it’s some random nobody prospect is it really that different?
Of course it isn’t. You just want to argue.
There is no player, worth acquiring, that wouldn’t cost prospect capital.
They aren’t ready to go all in. Gotta build the farm, not gut it for a wildcard slot. Touch up the current roster, see what happens but dont go nuts.
That is 100% false.
Yoan Moncada is making something like 25 million this year. He’s not worth that much. If the Mets pay his salary the White Sox would give him away for sure.
There are other players like this. Plenty of players are overpaid yet still can provide some value to a contender.
Why would anyone want moncada!? He’s played 11 games not all that badly but 11. Even for $, what’s the point? Team’s want to take on that $ to get sub replacement play? OK dude.
The Mets have some problems at 2b and 3b. And Moncada has been a 3-4 win player for his career he’s not sub replacement. Like I said it’s just money with him. It’s Cohens money if it has a chance to make the team better then why not?
@Balckpink: But Moncada doesn’t make the team better if he cannot play. He’s been on the IL since April!!
You’re so obsessed with the money side of it that you can’t see or hear any other aspect of the situation.
He’s coming off the IL soon knucklehead. This is talk about a trade that could happen weeks from now not today.
I’m wondering if the NL West will even have a WC team given how the schedules show them playing each other quite a bit rest of season. Braves will be #1 WC, but it’s crazy wide open for remaining NL WCs. Still a lot of teams are contenders at this point and Pads, Giants, DBacks, Cubs, Mets, Cards and maybe the Reds are potential buyers at deadline. Nats and Pirates are contenders too but still in building mode so not likely buyers.
I don’t think the Braves are a sure thing at all. Their system is getting thin if other teams make deals and they don’t it’s gonna hurt their chances.
Lot of teams are in it at this point. This month will certainly factor into who see buyers and sellers it’s just hard to say right now. As a Cardinals fan I can tell you they won’t sell if they are 500 or better at that point it’s really about how big of a buyer they will be. I don’t see a major move coming but they could use one.
Completely agree on Braves. Could see the Mets overtaking them.
Outside of Ozun La (and I guess Kelenic) this lineup is just not performing as it has in the past.
The NL Wild Card teams will be Padres, Braves, and either Mets or Cards. Put your money down now, and you get all-you-can drink black coffee at the Sports Book lounge.
woodhead: There’s half a season left to be played. No team’s schedule for roughly 80 games is easier or more difficult than any other team’s.
Not true at all lol, strength of schedule is real, and 80 games of data is a lot to base that on. If a team is playing mostly clubs with well below .500 records, likely sellers etc, that’s easier than a team playing good ones. I really have to explain this?
No. The fact is that every team plays every other team in MLB, so you’re wrong.
I really have to explain that?
Ok old man, back to bed. We’ll try to teach you basic concepts again tomorrow. Jesus…
LOLMets will LOLMet
MLM
Gonna go out on a limb and say that this account, at best, isn’t interesting and worst is just a troll account.
Adios
And a bad troll account at that
mets dont have buyer or seller mentality
they have loser menality
LMAO you don’t say anything when they win 14 games in 17 days but they lose 2 straight and here you go
What a lunatic
Happy belated bobby bonilla day
Hey, its not my opinion, its the consensus:
You’re one of the most ignorant lunatics on this site.
“HaPpY bObBy BoNiLlA DaY durrfffffffff”
Regarding seemingly attractive upcoming schedules – NYM have a habit of playing down to level of competition. Ask any NYM fan. They had an opportunity to step into 3rd WC position Saturday and laid an egg.
Astros had won 8 of 10 and basically did the same thing in the AL that the Mets did in the NL overtaking a bunch of teams in June.
How does losing to a hot team qualify as “playing down to the level of competition”?
YJ
Don’t expect coherent arguments from the majority of MLBTR commenters
Wasn’t a commentary on the Astros so much – tho Megill and Severino didn’t bring their A game at a time they needed to. NYM do have a habit of underperforming when a so called soft part of schedule comes
CBeisbol is an unfunny loser. I am a self aware Mets fan who watches nearly every game for years. They have a way of messing things up for sure.
10cbn
“NYM do have a habit of underperforming when a so called soft part of schedule comes”
Citation requested
September 2022 for starters
KTK
September 2022 for starters”
The average person is just not competent.
:facepalm:
Severino for Joel Payamps.
They probably buy a bunch, then start losing august 2nd , happy bobby B day
BTW Can any Mets help me understand why it took this long to retire Darryl Strawberry’s number and ceremony, etc??? That seemed like it should have happened 20-25 years ago no????
Because the Wilpons sucked.
It should never have been retired. Retiring of numbers should only be for Hall of Fame careers and Strawberry didn’t have one or stay in NY enough. I was a huge Strawberry fan as a kid but retiring his number is ridiculous.
Mets6986 You seem fun. They’re directly responsible for helping win a World Series. You know, that 86 in your name.
@ Mets6986 So by extension, you would object to Gooden, Keith, Koosman having their numbers retired as well?? Absolutely ridiculous position. This is the team retirement honor, not the HoF. It for players who performed for this team, and have a special place in the team’s history and heart.
I absolutely don’t think Hernandez’s number should be retired either. He played 4 full seasons with the Mets and a couple partial ones.
Winning one World Series deserves getting your number retired? Our standards are really low aren’t they? It’s memorable but let’s more worry about that question mark then reliving 1986 for the rest of our lives.
Steve Cohen would rather be a buyer than be a seller with this high payroll
Well hey it’s his choice to have a 50% chance at either missing the playoffs or a WC exit and losing Alonso for nothing in the offseason
Tanner Scott from Miami.
Blue Baron, everyone and their momma wants Tanner Scott at the deadline. The Mets may have good enough chips to trade, but could they make the best offer for him?
@Ignorant Son-of-a-b
That would be a really bad idea to be targeting Tanner Scott. I can only hope, for the benefit of my prediction, that the Mariners don’t trade for him.
If the mariners trade for him he either works well at t mobile park or massively underperforms like the entire offense and becomes a liability to play because he doesn’t have the special stats in his favor this year
Tanner Scott is a lefty and the Mariners only have one until Spier gets back and who knows if he will be the same Spier from before. But nonetheless he’s not on my wishlist per se, I’m looking at that Pete Fairbanks…and while they’re at it throw in Brandon Lowe, Arozerena and Yandy as well. Heck Jerry LOVES trading with Tampa Bay; shoot for the moon.
It would take a lot to get him but he’d be a great addition
@Blue Baron
I don’t trust Tanner Scott. His FIP is 3.69, xERA 3.40 and FRA of 4.03. He’s overperforming his actual ERA significantly SIERA of 4.28. Doesn’t help that his BB% is bottom 2% in MLB, at 15.5%. Not someone you want to put a lot of faith in during important playoff games. I guess, if the Mets can get him for next to nothing, it’s not a problem, but I’m assuming the Fish will want something of value for him. Buyer beware.
If I was a team looking for BP help, I’d probably check on the health of Yimi Garcia and see how things are going. He’s currently throwing off the mound and expected to return by All Star Break. He’s has a 2.87 FIP, 2.30 xERA and a 3.39 FRA. He’s pitching pretty close to his actual ERA. Also pitching to a SIERA of 2.46. If healthy, he’s the guy to target, not Tanner Scott.
I like him. Had him on one of my fantasy teams before he got hurt.
How about a different relief pitcher out of the humid and sticky state of Florida, Pete Fairbanks. Now that boy is filthy. And he may be available.
Definitely.
Interesting article. Mets could be buyers. Here’s all the guys they could sell. Um.
My takeaway was that the Mets could play a middle ground.
Sell.
Cohen missed an opportunity to do a tank when he first took over, set up a much stronger base of talent to move forward. He’s continuing the same mistake.
That would be my inclination but too soon to publicly wave the white flag. If they sell, they can fully reshape their roster for next season via FA and trades with the extra prospect capital. It’s Cohen resisting concession.
Let me get this straight, as a Brewer fan. Stearns wants to be a bullpen buyer this year? For his sub .500 Mets? LMAO. What a tool.
Comments like this make it very easy to know who to mute here. Thanks.
another word/phrase for “also-rans” according to google – Born Loser
The most Mets thing ever would be to buy at the deadline and then immediately implode in August, like the Angels last year.
The difference is the Mets won’t stand pat in the offseason.
Wouldn’t this be the most Angels thing to do?
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day to my friends in the Big Apple (and anywhere really) who are Mets fans !!!
And happy Chris Davis day to everyone else
Mets like 8 other teams in the NL maybe buyers at the deadline. I’m sure all of them would also say they would like some pen help.
It will be interesting to see which of these teams play well enough the next month to be buyers.
Not a lot of sellers atm but I think that will likely change in the next 2-3 weeks.
If you are currently a seller, you might want to sell now before the market gets flooded the last week or two before the deadline.
@Simmm but wouldn’t the Sellers also want to wait until everyone has decided one way or the other whether to buy/sell to accumulate all the best offers for their players??
Its all theoretical. In reality, the timing of the trade market varies from year to year. Some years the market heats up early, some years late. I think its fair to say that most teams aren’t willing to make big moves yet because the market hasn’t fully formed yet.
My opinion the Mets don’t have a deep farm
System: have a lot of expiring free agent contracts with a very tough month of September schedule. Good chance the Mets buy; miss the playoffs; end of watching the free agents leave for nothing. Alonso is only a 4th round draft pick
comp if he leaves with qualify offer.
In addition; any upgrades at all will result in the Mets having to trade from a not very deep farm system.
Both scenarios trading and free agents leaving for nothing make the Mets have a lot to do k. 2025
What..
1. The Mets have a very good farm system. Hampered at the top end by injuries to Jett and Drew and Ronny this year, but still.
2. They do have a lot of expiring contracts. By design. Good work.
3. They have the third easiest schedule from here on out.
@ raisinsss Sorry, but you’re mistaken. What Benjamin said is they don’t have a ‘deep’ farm. And he’s right. They have a small handful of well-regarded prospects, and little behind that. You talk about three guys who are injured. What about the rest of their top 10 prospects, top 15, top 30? Where are they and what are they doing? How many of them are off to poor, or at least disappointing starts this year? Acuna, Clifford, Ramirez, Vasil, Hamel, Stuart, Parada, J Jackson. The rest of the top 30 are in single-A or below.
And how many of their prospects are in the top 10 overall? Top 20? Top 30? None. How many of them are ready to make contributions as soon as next year? None right now, perhaps a couple or three ‘maybe’s.
Night after night, low-A, high-A and AA line-ups are overladen with guys hitting to OPS in the 500s, and even 400s, with only two or three players hitting 700 or more. AAA has a great lineup. But so many of them are 27 – 33 year old veterans who either washed out of the majors, or never got there in the first place. .
And I think his overall point is this: with so many players leaving, and close to nothing coming up rom the farm to replace them, how does this team get better next year?especially if they then go and trade away some of those prospects, rather than add to them.
They have a deep farm system. A lot of them are just very young like everyone else’s.
Mets do have a deep farm… in baseball america’s latest farm update, they have more than 20 50+ rated prospects. That will vary between publications, but it definitely has quality depth, just not the 60+ level prospects at the top.
The Mets also have Alvarez and Vientos up with the big team making huge impacts as everyday players. Once your top prospects hit that’s gonna have an impact.
To Geoff’s point, many of their higher end prospects are either hurt or not performing well. But Scott, Sproat, Acuna, Rodriguez, Baez, Tong all doing well, and Jett, Gilbert, Mauricio, Tidwell, McLean all still have high upside and are either just injured or adjusting to their new MiLB level. Clifford, Parada, Ramirez, Houck, Vargas are the ones who need to show something more soon though IMO.
They have a very deep farm system. Not great at the top though.
@Benjamin101677 The error here is in thinking the Mets need to spend big.
What the Mets need currently are three average relievers. Those are relievers of the tier that might require you to surrender your #27, 29, and 34 prospects for all three—or give up even less if you’re taking on salary.
The Mets don’t particularly need to deal two top 10 prospects to get a 9th inning guy, though that would help–they need not to blow up, give up four runs in the 8th and 9th, and continue to lose games late.
David looks like he’s the movie usher in Fastimes at Richmond High.
fast times is a classic! remember the pool scene hahaha
man the 80s were fun
i wanna wish all the muts fans out there a very happy bobby bonilla day!
Johnny
It’s so weird how you go out of your way to intentionally NOT UNDERSTAND the Bobby Bonilla contract.
Like not knowing the details is forgivable, but intentionally disregarding the facts and not changing your opinion when confronted with new information is absolutely the most accurate way to see if someone is an idiot.
You. are. an. idiot.
This is the wrong move. This team isn’t good. They need to be sellers or else we are going to be stuck in no mans land for the next 3 years
you know for a second there it looked like mets might actually be on to something with all the top prospects they acquired and hiring of stearns to right the ship. but of course muts are below 500 yet again, stearns has signed nothing but veteran garbage in the offseason, who he should be trying to offload now to get more minor leaguers, instead they wanna try to compete vs dodgers, phils, braves. plus all those great prospects have been horribly developed. their top 3 prospects are batting .179, .240, and .195 lol. everybody’s hurt. plus its bobby bonilla day, every muts fans favorite day hahaha. what a freak show disaster this tm is, year after year after year after year after year after year after …..
What learning disability do you have?
HAHAHA TOTAL IDIOT THINKS BOBBY BONILLA TRADE WAS A NET NEGATIVE
“what a freak show disaster this tm is, year after year after year after year after year after year after …..” They’re .500 you idiot. 500 baseball in a rebuild/evaluation year is perfectly fine.
Jesus tap dancing Christ you are an insufferable moron,.
Trading for relievers isn’t going to change the Mets future one way or another.
The Amazin’s are gonna need that buyer mentality cos Brandon Nimmo fainted in his hotel room in D.C. early Monday morning and landed on his head. Held out of that night’s game as a precaution.
Who else but LOLmets.
@raisinsss my apologies for offending you earlier. Let’s be friends.
Mets, much like the Jays, should be selling high on assets.
The Mets should be all in on Mason Miller. Not only a piece for this year but a big addition in the bullpen for years to come.
They desperately need relievers. Butto never should have been sent down especially not for Megill who could go to the pen. They’re rolling out Festa and Jay in close extra inning games like they’re trying to lose. Year after year they’re content to lose an inordinate amount of games in the 7ths and 8th innings. I know they want to keep Scott and Butto stretched out as starters but they can’t lose big league games cause AAA guys are pitching in close games late.
Cubs have a guy in the minors that could help; I hear he’s a great teammate, or maybe it was the other way around.
Many of you don’t trust Tanner Scott and others and I agree with you. 4 more games and Diaz returns but more help is needed. McGill should be ready for an inning or 2 out of the pen tomorrow if Stearns stops fooling around. Also bring up Butto and Lucchesi and stop fulling around with these kids and DFA guys. I know Fujinami is coming soon but that walk/wild pitch machine is not an answer. Bring up McGill, Butto and Lucchesi now. No decent trades are coming for a month. Get it done Big Nose.
Adams hits a new low in writing quality.
“Lefty Sean Manaea, too, can become a free agent at season’s end.”
What kind of garbage is this? You’ve butchered the rules of grammar and syntax by using “too” in place of the correct “also.” This is basic English here. “Too” goes at the end of sentences or clauses; it CANNOT be used interchangeably with “also,” as any high school freshman would understand. But not this hack Adams.
Also, there shouldn’t be a comma after “and” when it begins the sentence either. Just brutal stuff from this moron. Fire him already and replace him with someone who can actually write.