A renewed look at upgrade options for the Mets

Where can the Mets find some offense and/or some pitching ahead of the trade deadline?

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What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️

• Francisco Lindor will bat eighth in the National League’s starting lineup in the All-Star Game on Tuesday

• Pete Alonso wants to be fresh and healthy for the Mets second half playoff push, which is why he decided to opt out of the Home Run Derby

• Alonso fully intends to go to free agency again and won’t sign in-season (NY Post)

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Roster Moves 📰

• RHP Rico García claimed off waivers by the Yankees

• OF Travis Jankowski elected free agency over outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse

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Rumor Mill 💨

• OF Byron Buxton isn’t planning on waiving his no-trade clause this summer, if the Twins decide to move him (NY Post)

• The Twins have yet to engage in any trade talks involving RHP Joe Ryan (FanSided)

• The Twins could listen to offers for both Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran (NY Post)

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2025 MLB Draft - Mets Draft Summary 🚨

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Down on the Farm 🌾

All Mets minor league affiliates are off until Friday

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Today’s Game 🗓️

The Mets will resume action Friday night at Citi Field against Cincinnati.

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How is the trade market shaping up for the Mets? ✍️

New York Post

This is a necessary lull for the Mets, although there is plenty of buzz in Atlanta with the Mets sending four players to the All-Star Game as Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Edwin Díaz, and David Peterson are in attendance this week.

After all, the last month for the Mets has been crazy with all of the injuries and the expected regression that came with it.

The Mets lost Kodai Senga to a hamstring injury on June 12 and got him back (miraculously) on July 11. In between, the Mets lost Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill from their rotation to both medium and long-term injuries, scrambled for starters, scrambled for relievers, had a twice-daily shuttle going in between New York and Syracuse for pitchers, ran out of pitchers multiple times, and went 8-17 while pitching to a 5.83 ERA with 104 walks and 34 home runs allowed during that span.

No, they didn’t hit a whole lot either despite the upswing from Juan Soto during that time, but it was in fact their pitching issues that led to this swoon. No team can give up an average six runs per game in any stretch and expect to win consistently regardless of how well the offense has performed.

But it’s funny - with Senga and Frankie Montas now healthy and Sean Manaea back in the rotation as well, it just doesn’t seem as though their starting pitching is a problem now, although it would behoove the Mets to find another starting pitcher ahead of the trade deadline, which is now just about two weeks away.

We talk about this a lot around here, but the offense is generally healthy short of another absence from Jesse Winker, who is a one-dimensional hitter himself. Yet, they just aren’t getting anything from nearly half of their lineup. They’re getting a .650 OPS or less out of four of their positions on the field this season.

That has actually trended down over the last month, which means it has gotten worse and can get even worse than this:

The problem for the Mets is that they’re not finding four top-of-the-depth chart replacements in the next two weeks in the trade market.

So, how might this be trending as the trade deadline approaches?

The problem is that there are only eight teams that are more than seven games out of a wild card at this juncture of the season - the Marlins, Orioles, Braves, A’s, Pirates, Nationals, White Sox, and Rockies. The reason these teams are bad is because of the players in large measure, so there aren’t a lot of compelling options to be had among these teams, even if teams like the Marlins, White Sox, and Rockies would consider trading almost anyone right now.

From my seat, here’s where I see things:

1. They’re not likely to do anything behind the plate
   
   That’s not entirely true, as I think the Mets are going to bring Francisco Álvarez back this weekend if not a little later than that and bet that his eight home runs in 11 games at Triple-A is the antidote to his problems at the plate at this level. They are also seemingly pleased with what he’s doing defensively, which, in my opinion anyway, matters more than what he is doing offensively because he has become so poor at receiving and blocking at this level over the last year or so. But yes, he needs to hit, and he’s hitting in the minors, so the Mets might need to take a leap of faith with Álvarez down the stretch of the season. That’s not to say he should just be the everyday catcher - he needs to earn it again.

   

   AP Photo

   There aren’t going to be a lot of quality options at this position ahead of the trade deadline, so it stands to reason the Mets opt for familiarity between Álvarez and Luis Torrens. The off-season may be a different story, but right now, this is a hard place to upgrade mid-stream.

2. There isn’t a lot of runway to upgrade at third
   
   I mean, who are they getting? That’s the problem here. Boston is now poised to be a buyer, so they’re not moving Alex Bregman ahead of his inevitable opt-out. They could look to acquire veteran 3B Ryan McMahon from the Rockies, but he's had an awful season and leads the league with 121 strikeouts, so is he really better than what they have in Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio?
   
   They could conceivably take an aging shortstop and a big contract like Carlos Correa and move him to third base. But just because he’s expensive doesn’t mean he would make them better, especially with his .694 OPS this season.

   

   The one player that could be available at third is Eugenio Suárez, a pending free agent on the floundering Diamondbacks. He brings big power, a lot of strikeouts, and below-average defense at third but would obviously be a massive upgrade for the lineup, which is what they need. They can always install him as their designated hitter and go with the better defensive option in Baty. But he’s a one-dimensional rental and will be in very high demand if the Diamondbacks end up selling over the next couple of weeks.

3. They’re definitely finding pitching in some combination
   
   This is a front office that originally prided itself on having a strength in numbers for their starting rotation. They don’t have those numbers right now, even with their primary starters all healthy for the first time this season.
   
   And, somebody is bound to get hurt again.
   
   I still think they should try for a top-of-the-depth chart pitcher in Edward Cabrera or Mitch Keller. They need to load-manage Clay Holmes; they’re always coddling Kodai Senga, and he’s proving to be only productive when he’s out there, which hasn’t happened a lot since 2023. Outside of David Peterson, the rest are wild cards who are still in the ramp-up phase of their season. I don’t know if the Mets would be willing to make a medium-term investment in Keller, but they’re one of the few teams that would be willing to fully absorb his contract, which means the prospect capital could be less than street value going back to Pittsburgh. The prospect capital needed should certainly be less for Keller than Cabrera.
   
   As for the bullpen, David Stearns has made no secret about the fact that they need to replace AJ Minter on the left side. I could see the Mets doing that and absolutely finding another swing-and-miss arm from the right side to support Reed Garrett in the later innings. Ryne Stanek is just way too inconsistent at this point and needs to be spotted for lower-leverage innings. There are always plenty of options available among the sellers in this part of the market, so the Mets should be active here.

4. Finding someone for centerfield is hard to do, too
   
   Mind you, if the Mets get Suárez for third, then the Mets will probably stick with their roadmap for strong defense in center. They should be getting José Siri back before the end of the season, which would only strengthen their defense and at least offer some pop out there. Of course, he suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken tibia he suffered against the A’s earlier this year, so there’s no telling when his return might occur.
   
   But they can’t bank on getting Suárez (there’s no evidence they’re even interested in getting him right now, either), so the best opportunity for an upgrade seems to be in the outfield. I don’t think the Mets want to move Brandon Nimmo to center at this stage of his career and risk hindering his health and production. There’s no way they can or should move Juan Soto, so they’re probably going to need to focus squarely on available players who can play centerfield.
   
   There’s been a lot of buzz around the Mets possibly being interested in Luis Robert Jr., but I think that’s insane. He has a 78 OPS+ and a .357 SLG over the last two seasons. In what realm does that make the Mets better? He’s owed $47 million through 2027 as well. There’s also been some noise around Cedric Mullins, but he’s had a miserable season himself (although he has experienced a decent uptick in power this year) and has been generally ineffective defensively.
   
   Maybe they’d consider a reunion with area-native Harrison Bader, who fit in so well with the Mets last season? He’s having a good season with the Twins (109 OPS+) and we all know he’s a strong defensive player.
   
   There’s also Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who’s having a down year with the Diamondbacks but has a stronger track record than what he’s producing, but he hasn’t ever played center field, so it’s not really a fit for them.

There are obviously players the Mets are considering and talking about that I didn’t list here, or that nobody has considered. It’s why Stearns and co. get paid the big bucks.

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Around the League 🚩

• Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to ever win the Home Run Derby, defeating Junior Caminero to take this year’s crown

• Rays owner Stu Sternberg has agreed in principal to sell the club to to a group led by a Florida-based developer Patrick Zalupski for $1.7 billion (ESPN)