MLBTR's team-by-team look at the upcoming deadline continues with the Mets. Things have cooled after a hot start, thanks to a mounting number of injuries. But the club is still in playoff position and should be adding this month.
Record: 53-41 (83.1% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)
Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels
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Potential needs: Starting pitching; bullpen help, particularly from the left side; center fielder; infielder; catcher
Life comes at you fast in the baseball world. That's especially true in this era, where pitchers are pushing the human body to its limits. On June 12th, the Mets had a record of 45-24 and a 5.5-game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. They had a healthy rotation and a couple of guys on rehab assignments, almost ready to come off the injured list. At that moment, it seems like Frankie Montas was going to get squeezed to the bullpen and Paul Blackburn to the trade block.
On that June 12th date, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that the Mets were getting trade interest on Blackburn due to their apparent rotation surplus. But moments after that report came out, Kodai Senga collapsed on the field with an apparent injury. He would be placed on the IL with a hamstring strain shortly thereafter. Not long after that, Tylor Megill also hit the IL, in his case due to an elbow sprain. A little over a week later, Griffin Canning ruptured his Achilles' tendon and Blackburn hit the IL with a shoulder impingement.
That barrage of injuries has quickly turned a surplus into a deficit and hampered the club's results. They have gone 8-17 over the past few weeks and are now a game and a half behind the Phils in the East. They are still firmly in contention, holding a Wild Card spot, but now seem likelier to add starting pitching.
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I’ll sum up what the Mets need as a true fan:
An ace level pitcher: Degrom, Gallen, or Beiber (if healthy)
A Centerfielder: Buxton or Durran
A setup man (lefty): Chapman
2 more relievers to solidify the pen: Mix of Bednar, Camilo Doval, Felix Bautista, Duran, Clase
If they made these moves, they would be the favorite to win it all. Its time for Stearns to stop prospect hugging
What does that even mean – a “true” fan?
I like your Chapman idea. How about Felix Bautista as well.
I don’t like our CF options. Buxton is made of glass. Durran is fine but I don’t know if he’s the answer. Neither might be available.
I’m more of the 3B camp for a bat. I like Suarez. Moves will need to be made and I’m not sure there’s much interest in our young guys at the MLB level. Vientos stock has to be rock bottom.
It means he’s an idiot who sounds like someone calling in to nyc sports radio shows.
@sfes Most of WFAN outside of Evan Roberts doesn’t know what they are talking about. I can’t listen to them
@Sayhay888 we don’t need a 3rd basemen, Baty and Mauricio are fine. I don’t think Suarez would be a huge upgrade for what we would have to give up
metzfan relax on the real fan thing we are all real fans we wouldn’t be on this page. most of the players you mentioned aren’t available as their teams are still in contention or believe they are. Cedric Mullins makes the most sense and center field. they’re not bringing deGrom back, he’s too much money he’s too brittle and he has a no trade clause and he left New York for a reason. nobody is hugging prospects but they certainly don’t have enough prospects at any level for the 25 people you want to bring on board
Are you talking to yourself? Lol
@metzfan Cedric Mullins isn’t an upgrade over Taylor, he has been lousey for 2 years already
Even in a down year mullins is better bat wise than Taylor in pretty much everyway which the fact McNeil is regularly out in CF tells you the mets are looking for a CF bat. You probably could put a cardboard cutout at the plate and get better production than Taylor.
Taylor had more hits (2) against the mets in the 2nd game of the double header than Taylor has for the month of July so far (1) if you want to give him credit he also has one walk for the month too.
I like Taylor but right now its bats you need and Taylor is a 4th outfielder not a starter even from the start of the season he was on the short side of the platoon. Mullins is a starter. When was the last time you heard about Taylor in any rumor mill.
But Mullins bat isn’t better than McNeil or his glove even close to Taylor’s. So what’s the point?
“Cedric Mullins isn’t an upgrade over Taylor, he has been lousey for 2 years already”
This is related to Taylor vs Mullins.
But since you want more you add a decent bat to the lineup and lengthen it. You can be contempt with basically your 9 spot belonging to auto out most days and kinda losing your pitched around 8th spot essentially losing 2 spots in the lineup. It also give mcneil a more defined spot at 2nd and can spell nimmo in left a bit to give him some days to rest his lisfranc injury..
Also part of this is because none of Baty, Vientos, Mauricio, Acuna or even Young and Winkler have stepped up enough to be a regular in the lineup. Which having a deadspot just compounds that issue even more. If any of those guys were hitting well with regularity you could live with the dead spot.
Am i trading the farm for mullins no but to say he is not an upgrade is flat out wrong. Overall he is still an upgrade over taylor and would help the team.
You realize every one of the Mets you said haven’t won a spot in the lineup are having better offensive years then Mullins.
metzfan relax on the real fan thing we are all real fans we wouldn’t be on this page. most of the players you mentioned aren’t available as their teams are still in contention or believe they are. Cedric Mullins makes the most sense and center field. they’re not bringing deGrom back, he’s too much money he’s too brittle and he has a no trade clause and he left New York for a reason.
nobody is hugging prospects but they certainly don’t have enough prospects at any level for the 25 people you want to bring on board
Not a Mets fan, but this is comedic. Your team doesn’t have the assets to complete 1/4 of these acquisitions. Maybe they should’ve spent $700 million on a better team and not just one player?
Give your GM a chance with realistic expectations. Like Keller, Bednar for Mauricio plus.
@Big Poison The Mets have a top 5 farm system in the game right now. We have plenty of assets. If Stearns gets guys like who we got in 2022 (Vogelbach, Ruf, Givens) then the team isn’t going anywhere
I’m not foolish enough to believe we can trade for another team’s ace, closer, star hitter and more. But I do believe that any team who lost most of their starting rotation, several late arms in the pen and important bench pieces would struggle too. Doesn’t help that Vientos has fallen off the face of the planet while Mauricio, Baty and Acuna aren’t putting up consistently good numbers.
I think getting affordable impact players has to be the name of the game. Bednar would be a good get. Keller is possible, but I’d also consider an established hitter to lengthen the lineup.
They have a strong farm. It’s very deep with quality prospects, and the top end is looking stronger now with Williams, Benge, McLean, Tong, Sproat. Guys like Mauricio and Baty still have value because teams have seen the upside. I like the next layer of prospects in Ewing, Morabito, Baez, Santucci. They have capital to make a trade for an impact player easily, and Keller is not it. An unenticing number 3. I’m just not sure if they want to give up a package with Williams and Tong to get a true impact SP or bat. A lot to part with.
@Ma4170 You are 100% right. They should only give up top prospect for difference makers. We don’t need Edward Cabrera or Mitch Keller, we already have enough 3-5 starters
Senga is their ace type pitcher coming back tonight. Manea is another quality arm coming back on Sunday. Raley is the lefty arm coming back after the break. In house people coming back took care of 75% of that.
Two more impact relief arms wouldn’t hurt
@Mets Era Thumping Soto Senga is not an ace. An Ace goes 7 innings consistenly and can slam the door with heat when you need it. Senga throws too slow. Raley was awful on the Mets in his time here. He is coming back from TJ, he is probably even worse now
You have zero credibility saying Raley was awful with the Mets.
@Mets Era Thumping Soto Raley is bad in high leverage situations. He also has reverse splits, he can’t get lefties out
“An Ace goes 7 innings consistenly and can slam the door with heat when you need it. ”
You realize that no pitcher this season is averaging 7 innings. The only ones close are really Skubal and Webb and Wheeler. Even your “ace level pitchers dont fit that category including degrom who isnt even averaging 6.
Senga regularly pitches into the 6th and 7th inning which majority of the “aces” do and pretty much slams them shut. I would say he falls into the category pretty well.
He’s an ace when healthy
Stearns is a joke, does nothing but shop in the discount rack, can’t build a rotation or a bullpen. Soto was signed by Cohen. Stearns has never won anything. People need to stop acting like this guy has a clue.
That discount rack he shops at certainly produced a lot of first place finishes for a small market team.
@carlos15 you are 100% right. I’ve been saying this since last year
Suarez and Zac Gallen ( both free agents at seasons end) so it shouldn’t cost a lot., plus Jake Bird and Halvorsen from the Rockies
2 trades fixes 3 areas.
Go with a rotation of Gallen, Senga, Manaea, Holmes and Montas, put Peterson in the BP, that fixes the lefty needed in the pen plus with Raley coming back.
Not sure Peterson has a great track record coming out of the pen
He did last year in the playoffs
Peterson is so much better than Montas and needs to stay in the rotation. Send Montas to long relief.
Those are fantasy baseball ideas.
Mets can’t pull all those in without paying double or more based on the tax. As for “prospect hunting” not sure what prospects you’re referring too. All Stearns has done is pick up waivers from the bottom of the barrel.
True Fan? since when? All you do is rip every move they make and praise the players that will end up doing awful. Pretty much every “difference maker” you mention ends up being bad and dfa and does bad even after the mets. If anything i would say you are a met hater. Probably someone from the marlins fan base maybe?
Also this is mlb .. not the big show. You cant force trades for garbage players. You would probably have to empty your minor leagues to do even half of what you ask above. Gallen probably the exception as you may be able to get him on the cheaper side.
@Roll a true fan watches all the games, identifies areas of improvement, and comes up with their own original ideas of how the team should move forward. Most fans like you on this site praise the front office for every move that they do and never critiques the team. I wouldn’t be complaining if the team was 95-0. They aren’t even first in thier own division, yet they have the second highest payroll in baseball, thats failure
you dont watch all games heck a true fan would know which arm a pitcher they say is a “great reliever” pitches with.. So either you are a troll or just know nothing about baseball.
Also you were were complaining when they were in the the NLCS even after them having one of the greater runs to end last season. They had the best record in the majors at one point this season and you were still complaining. They hit a rash of injuries literally losing 2-3 starters in a weekish time along with a couple of bullpen pieces. There is only so much depth a team can turn around in short order. At one point their entire rotation outside of peterson were guys not on the opening day roster that they had already lost 2 starters on opening day.
How is the number 3 team in salary doing .. actually a game behind the mets, 2 games behind their division rivals
Quite an ambitious order. Do you what this would cost them in players/prospects? Seems so unrealistic
What a joke that Jacob Misiorowski and his 25 innings were selected to the all star game over Ranger Suarez. Suarez has almost double the wins, triple the innings, a much lower ERA and his wins above replacement is almost five times higher. Ranger has a much better ERA+ and FIP, too..
@MLB Top 100 Commenter I 100% agree. They could of added Sanchez, Suarez, Senga, or Abbott. I don’t see how they choose a guy with only 25 innings that isn’t a reliever. Allstars are based on what you have done, not on potential. If he threw 5 no hitters/perfect games in his starts, then he’d have a case. I don’t see why they added so many undeserving players this year. I’m still shocked that Soto didn’t make the team. The media says its because he had a slow start to the season, yet Misorowski got in and hasn’t been in the MLB for even a month
Abbott replaced Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ranger, Senga, Sanchez all more deserving than Misiorowski.
If the Mets got Duran from the Sox they would leave him permanently in Centerfield, though left field is his present condition. I would lead him off, Duran Lindor, Soto, Alonso, Nimmo, Vientos( DH), McNeil, 3rd Base ( Baty/ Mauracio), Catcher….DURAN active lead off hitter, Alonso could get 140—150 RBI’s this year. Need pitching on all levels, starter, multiple relievers, lefty, back up closer…..
Teenagers dream about what they want for Christmas. Big boys and girls focus on what’s possible.
It’ll be interesting to see what potentially unfolds before this deadline, as always!
Brooks Raley is back after the break. That helps a lot with the bullpen. Manea and Senga are back this series. They really only need to add a couple of top relievers and they will be fine. I wouldn’t add pieces to the roster unless they are clearly better than what they got such as Duran. I wouldn’t be surprised if Benge is starting in Center by the end of the year.
@LFG I’ve been saying for the last several weeks the Mets need an ace. The time is now!!!
“Benge starting in CF by the end of the year…” Just about zero basis for that prediction, and next to zero chance of that happening.
Besides his performance? Do you pay attention to their minor leagues at all? I guess a college star drafted in the first round that excels in the minors never gets called up in his second season.
Just to be clear, Benge is a great prospect. But what you’re talking about is extremely rare and happens only with real superstar talents. You’re not just talking about him getting called up – you’re saying he starts in CF, and for a contender. You’re placing far too much relevance on single-A performance. As for his AA numbers, he’s been there for just 13 games and 50 PAs – not nearly long enough to characterize what he is doing there. You’ve heard of “small sample size”. Well, the statisticians term for it is “invalid” sample size. I follow all of the top 4 Mets minor league teams every single day, and have been for 12 years. I’ve seen plenty of star talents get off to a great start for 6 or 8 weeks after a promotion, only to go into an equally deep slump once that league figures him out.
Going from draft to the majors in his second year? Happens very rarely, and when it does, the player is not always successful. You’re also forgetting that players are now drafted in mid-July instead of early June. They get 6 weeks less playing time in their first season. Michael Conforto opened his second season in AA, and had 45 games there before being called up. He did well in that call-up but was used largely in a platoon role. The following season saw him get sent down again.
What you’re suggesting is, at best, unreasonably optimistic.
Four college bays from the same draft last year are already in the Majors. It’s actually not rare at all but fairly common for first round picks. Benge has well above bat to ball skills and an excellent eye. He plays good defense with above average speed and has an elite arm. There’s not much to develop in the minors besides his raw power which will come naturally.
He needs more work on his swing. He needs to lift the ball more, just like Baty.
Is the tinkering of his swing what caused Baty to struggle in the majors? Players got to Professional baseball for a reason. Not sure why everyone always wants to tamper with everything.
Benge starting in center this year is a reach to say the least.
Go get Suarez, Keller and Bednar, Bader would be a nice cheap pickup. Love Buxtons talent but that injury prone guy would cost too much. If they can’t get Suarez, go for his teammate Naylor and his expiring contract. He can be the FT DH and can flip with Pete once and awhile.
Fire Jeremy Hefner to start with, no one on the team can throw a strike.
Be real. He’s one of the best pitching coaches in baseball.
I just thought of an under-the-radar deal that might help. With Alvarez still struggling at Syracuse, and KC going nowhere, Sal Perez should be available at low cost. He’s 35, in the last year of his contract, but with a team option for next year, so he wouldn’t block anyone long-term.
Not earthshaking, but useful.
Keller could be solid if the price is right. Would certainly add a solid piece to the rotation and supply depth.
Vientos would probably be part of the return.
Please send him in a trade tomorrow, I don’t want to see him play again lol
Not sure if he would or wouldn’t, but right now he’s tough to watch. And that’s on top of Acuna, Baty and Mauricio. Really need at least one of them to get going consistently to buy some wiggle room for the others. If any of them really click, my first bet would be Baty.
I agree one of them has to get going at this point. you knew not all of them would be good but i figured 2 would be atleast league average when the season started.
My thought was Vientos bat would make up for his defense and i thought Acuna versatility and speed with a little bit of hitting making him the other. Baty i figured would be the streaky guy if he stayed up and Mauricio would be rusty and mostly be in the minors or utility guy off the bench as you knew injuries would happen. .
Acuna Baty and Mauricio can all play the field. Mark is a terrible fielder. He’s the bat that can be traded for more pitching.
Vientos can hit, he’s the DH….
Vientos does not seem like a good fit to me. Pirates have a 3B and a DH already. Do you expect Pirates to shoehorn him into 1B? I’m sure some team will actual give them real major league ready value for a reasonably cost controlled starter in Keller.
People are going too far the other way being down on Vientos. We saw last year offensively he can be a top 5 3B bat. A tough second season isn’t uncommon. To trade him for a journeyman like Keller would be a disaster.
I’m not down on him at all. I just said the Pirates are not a good fit for a trade using Vientos. Furthermore a controllable quality starter such as Keller is Not! equal to a journeyman. If you want to see the latter look no further than Lovelady, Devensky, Pop, Hagenmen et al.
Keller a journeyman? By what definition? The notion that the Pirates would accept Vientos straight up for Keller is laughable.
By my definition a journeyman is an average sp. Ill give you his best years, the last 3.5 seasons – 404/1.28 a 106 ERA+ 3.14 k/bb. Hes an average pitcher.
Not laughable at all. Cant wait to see how this comment ages. Vientos has loads more upside than kelller, who will never be better than the medocre best he’s already shown.
The Mets need to get rid of Mark Vientos, he sucks
So what team would want a sucky player?
sometimes its about potential and change of scenery. Also coaches can see holes or something they think they can tweek or fix. Its all about price. Your not gonna get a Skubal for him but you might be able to get a mid level prospect or a reliever depending on the team. Especially with the success he had last year.
Look at Manea and Severino and even Quintana last year. Everyone thought they were a joke to sign to be regular starters and they carried the staff. Or even Josh Bell was bad for the Marlins and he got traded and did pretty well after the trade and he was much older.
The Mariners took Robles and he turned around a bit with them.
As of today,the Mets are a half game behind Philly.Give Stearns a little credit for not making a panic move.He knows what the pulse of the team is.The trade deadline is around the corner.I’m confident moves will be made to right the ship.
I just saw my favorite quote ever in this thread – ” I wouldn’t be complaining if the team was 95-0″. The funny thing is that he probably would be complaining about something…
I’m ready to aggressively go get Geno and some bullpen help (and not just guys they sign off waivers and then release after a game or two). I don’t understand why they keep wanting to roll with these bullpen games instead of bringing up McLean, Sproat or even Tong. It makes zero sense to have prospects rotting away in the system until they’re like 30 years old and washed up. Bring them up for a spot start and see how it goes. If they do well, they can stay and we can move Holmes to the bullpen. If they don’t, then we know we will have to trade for more starting pitching (which we will have to do anyway). But the best setup guy available is already in our organization.
Roster management is a complex multi layered process that is well above your immediate needs.
.” It makes zero sense to have prospects rotting away in the system until they’re like 30 years old and washed up.” Rotting away? Rotting away? Calm down.
The Mets could probably use the Nats’ Soroka to bolster their BP and be available for a spot start. The Nats have been using him in their rotation where he hasn’t really been working out because he does fine for a few innings then gets hammered. But he did well in the White Sox BP last year. He probably wouldn’t cost the Mets much either.
Knowing McLean, Sproat and soon McGill gives starting pitching depth in second half. My trifecta of trade acquisitions would be G. Soto, Suarez and Buxton.
I don’t know where the ridiculous Buxton rumors cane from but the dood signed long term because he likes it there and has 10 & 5 rights.
Except that we don’t know, we hope. Sproat’s been very good for only three starts. Too soon to know whether he will sustain it, or the league will figure him out and start hitting him again. Megill being moved to the 60-day was a little suspect, IMO. He was already playing catch from 75 feet. The move condemns him to be out until at least Aug 16th. It doesn’t always take 6 weeks to go from 75-foot catch to full recovery. And teams don’t typically move a player to the 60-day unless they are absolutely certain the player will be out for longer than that.
What is going on with Tyrone Taylor and Cedric Mullins splits? They would make an atypical platoon.
Mullins’ weaker split and Taylor’s stronger one is against RHers. Mullins’ .658 against them is still 50 points higher than Taylor’s .607. Not sure they’d platoon at this point.