After a disastrous May, the Mets have played good baseball for the month of June which still has a week left to go. A 162-game baseball season is filled with peaks and valleys. Just three weeks ago it seemed that the Mets would be sellers at the trade deadline, looking to fortify the organization by trading veteran players for prospects. Now that the team is right smack in the middle of the NL Wild Card race, will the Mets become buyers instead of sellers?
The answer might be that the Mets will be both buyers and sellers. Many teams in the hunt for postseason play are looking for a starting pitcher to bolster their rotation. The Mets have four starting pitchers, Jose Quintana, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Adrian Houser, all of whom are completing the final year of their contracts. While Houser has been moved to the bullpen where he’s fared much better, he still is a starting pitcher with several seasons of MLB experience.
There’s a lot to sell
With David Peterson and Tylor Megill solidly in the pitching rotation and Christian Scott (currently in AAA Syracuse) waiting in the wings to rejoin the team, the X-factor is the impending return of #1 starter Kodai Senga. It appears Senga will return after the All-Star break at the earliest as he’s only progressed to throwing bullpen sessions which would come ahead of a few rehab starts. But the All-Star break is only three+ weeks away. That would have the Mets with seven starting pitchers plus Houser. Barring more injuries, it’s hard to see the Mets keeping them all. And that’s not even including Jose Butto who remains at AAA but is a very viable option as another starting pitcher. The Mets are starting pitcher-rich in terms of total numbers.
Position player-wise the Mets have players to trade including Pete Alonso, Harrison Bader, Jeff McNeil, Tyrone Taylor, and DJ Stewart. However, with the team hitting on all cylinders now, the Mets might not be in such a hurry to sell off those assets. Only Alonso would bring any kind of decent return and even that is questionable since it’s common knowledge that the Mets intend to vie for Pete’s services in free agency after the season.
In which area would the Mets be buyers?
The bullpen is the primary unit that could stand to see an upgrade. Both Adam Ottovino and Drew Smith pitched when the Mets were up by 10 runs in the 11-1 blowout Friday versus the Cubs. This displays a lack of confidence in those pitchers who were meant to be top performers in Carlos Mendoza’s bullpen. Edwin Diaz seems to be back in form and Reid Garret has been a revelation. Dednel Nunez has looked great in a short sample as has Danny Young, who is currently in AAA. But besides Diaz and Ottovino, the Mets lack experienced relievers who know and have experienced the pressure situations that occur in the playoffs. The problem in looking for relief help via trade, is that there are many teams in the same boat as the Mets.
There are still 32 games before the trading deadline and there are sure to be some twists and turns to navigate. Another protracted losing streak could push the Mets back over to the side of being sellers. Continuance of their recent good play could have the Mets looking to put in those few missing pieces that would make them a nightmare to play in the playoffs. The latter is more fun to think about than the former.
