Though right-hander Dillon Gee is expected to open the season in the Mets’ rotation and there are no active trade talks surrounding him at this time, the team may still trade him within a month’s time, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports.
Gee is slated to be the team’s fifth starter to open the season, but he has his dissenters within the organization who prefer Rafael Montero in the rotation, Rubin hears. The Mets, of course, also have a wealth of young pitching in the upper levels of the Minor Leagues, including Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. Even with right-hander Zack Wheeler out for the year, it does seem that the Mets would have enough pitching depth to move Gee and his $5.3MM salary.
Gee, who will turn 29 in late April, is under control through the 2016 season. He pitched to a 4.00 ERA in 137 1/3 innings last season with the Mets and has turned in a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate in 639 2/3 innings over parts of five seasons in New York.
From a purely speculative standpoint, the Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Blue Jays, Astros, Yankees, Dodgers and Rays all make some degree of sense, as each has either dealt with pitching injuries or was open to adding depth late in the offseason. The Mets are known to be seeking left-handed relief options, but they’re apparently reluctant to move Gee for such a pitcher.
It’s somewhat rare to see a regular player or rotation option moved in the season’s first month, but it does happen from time to time, and Mets GM Sandy Alderson is no stranger to such moves; the Mets matched up with the Pirates on a trade for Ike Davis on April 18 last season.
