The Mets’ Trade Deadline Shopping List

Normally when you shop at the mall, you might walk past Tiffany and Gucci and instead stop at Foot Locker for new kicks and the food court for a Cinnabon. Mets fans can relate this time of year when we typically lack the funds or prospects to be serious shoppers at the trade deadline. Not this time. We’re flush with cash and there’s a limo waiting outside to fill with goodies. Money is no object for this Mets front office now that we have a billionaire owner who wants to win.

Item #1 – A Big Ticket Item?

There is a generational talent available in Juan Soto and, at just 23 years old, he’s worth checking in on. However, acquiring him will require his new team to reportedly part with their top three prospects and at least one young Major Leaguer, plus fork over the highest contract in the game – upwards of $400 million. MattyMets balks at this for three reasons. 1) We’d have to trade say, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and one of Matt Allan, Ronny Maurcio or Alex Ramirez, plus someone like Tylor Megill or David Peterson. That’s A LOT, especially when you consider that trading for Soto does not guarantee that he’ll sign a long-term deal with us, a la Johan Santana. 2) This isn’t the NBA where one superstar player like LeBron James makes you a playoff lock year after year. Just ask Mike Trout and the team that pays him by the Brinks Truck. 3) This Mets team has a legitimate shot this year and a deal like this could really shakeup the clubhouse chemistry midseason. Soto is a better fit for a team with money and a young talent base that’s not already a near lock for this year’s playoffs, like the Giants, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox,  Mariners, or Rangers.

Most of the other reported best players available are starting pitchers like Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas. With Jacob deGrom and Megill coming back, we don’t need help in that area.

This Mets team has clung to first place despite injuries and a few shortcomings thanks to a well constructed roster with pitching depth, defense and guys who get on base. But, while we have some reinforcements coming by way of players returning to health, we’re still going to need a mid-summer boost to stave off the World Series champion Braves for a division title. Beyond that, we’ll need as much talent as we can get to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Dodgers, Padres, Brewers, and Cardinals who are all eyeing the same merchandise.

Item #2 – A Shiny, New Bat

While the Mets have been great at setting the table with high contact OBP guys like Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Luis Guillorme the middle of the order seems to be a run producer short. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are among the league leaders in RBI, but Eduardo Escobar hasn’t so far performed up to expectations and we’re getting very little offense from our catchers and DH’s.

Between Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith you’d have thought we’d be fine at DH this season and you would have been very wrong. Minus PED assistance, Cano looked like a hasbeen and is no longer on the roster. Smith, now on the IL, is yet to hit a home run this season. Davis has been the best of the bunch, but that’s like saying Panda Express has the best Chinese food at the mall. Smith and Davis should be used as trade chips as it’s starting to appear they do not have a clear future with the team. They both seem like terrific guys and maybe they can benefit from a change of uniforms.

Trading for Dan Vogelbach (boy is he fun to root for) was a good start, but we could definitely use some right-handed punch in the lineup. A few options include the Red Sox’ J.D. Martinez, the Nationals’ Josh Bell, the Orioles’ Trey Mancini, and the Rockies’ C.J. Cron. The Diamondbacks David Peralta, while not really a DH, could also be a fit. Any one of these hitters would present a huge upgrade over Davis and none should cost an arm and a leg.

There’s been some talk about bringing in a catching upgrade but this could be problematic for a number of reasons. First, while Tomas Nido and Brian McCann might not combine for 10 home runs, both are quality defensive catchers who our pitchers are comfortable working with. The Cubs’ Wilson Contreras is certainly a better hitter, but he’s probably defensive downgrade and he’s not exactly Mike Piazza with the bat. In fact, no catcher in baseball is right now. Most teams deploy guys who can frame, block and throw out runners and just accept the hole in their lineup. This may change for the Mets in a year or two when our star prospect Francisco Alvarez reaches the big leagues. In the meantime, we don’t want to block him, we don’t want to disturb our pitchers and we’re stuck with McCann for two more years.

Item #3 – A Bridge to Diaz

Edwin Diaz has been absolutely brilliant as our closer this year but this team desperately needs to strengthen the bridge between the starters and him. Adam Ottavino has been good and Drew Smith has been solid. Seth Lugo has been untrustworthy, Joely Rodriguez is not reliable and we don’t know what to expect from Trevor May. A better lefty like Andrew Chafin would be nice, but more important is the addition of a lockdown 8th inning guy, someone who can handle pressure and close if needed. Teams falling out of contention would be happy to part with their closers in exchange for a prospect. David Robertson. Daniel Bard, Jorge Lopez, Gregory Soto, Scott Barlow, David Bednar, Mark Melancon, Joe Barlow, Tanner Scott, Raisel Iglesias, and others may be ripe for picking.

Adding a quality right handed bat empowers our lineup. A reliable reliever or two solidifies our bullpen and makes this team less vulnerable. And a healthy Jacob deGrom turns our good rotation into a great one. A few smart moves position us to not only make the playoffs but to advance. We shouldn’t have to part with any of our top five prospects to get this done. And with a healthy deGrom and Scherzer, this team will have a real shot in October.  Add your two cents in the comments. #LFGM