Life without Jake, and are the Mets close to a trade with the Padres?
Life without Jake, and are the Mets close to a trade with the Padres?
The Mets must figure out, at least for now, life without Jacob deGrom. Plus, is the club close to a trade involving Eric Hosmer?
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
RHP Jacob deGrom has a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder, and will be shut down for at least four weeks (story)
The Mets have had discussions with the Padres about a trade involving 1B/LF Dom Smith, RHP Chris Paddack and 1B Eric Hosmer (The Athletic)
RHP Max Scherzer has a “minor” hamstring tweak, but is unconcerned (Heyman)
Manager Buck Showalter did not confirm that Scherzer will take deGrom’s place on Opening Day
Top outfield prospect Alex Ramirez made his Grapefruit League debut on Friday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the Mets' 7-2 loss to the Cardinals
RHP Jake Reed will likely start the season on the injured list after missing most of the spring with oblique soreness (MLB.com)
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets are off today. They resume Grapefruit League play tomorrow night at 1:10 PM ET against the Marlins at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, FL.
The Mets have discussed a trade with the Padres, but they should hang up the phone 📝
In the wake of Friday’s huge news that Jacob deGrom would miss a “significant” portion of the early part of the season, the Mets are apparently looking to be active to help soften the blow of his absence.
In the twilight hours on early Saturday, it was revealed that the club has been speaking to the Padres about a trade that could help the team’s rotation following the injury to their ace. According to a report from The Athletic, the two teams have discussed a trade that would send 1B/LF Dom Smith to San Diego in exchange for RHP Chris Paddack and 1B Eric Hosmer.
And while I do appreciate the aggressive, win-now approach the club’s front office is showing in these actions, I think it may be best for them to hang up the phone.
First off, the “headliner” in this deal on the Mets’ end of things would be Paddack who, following a promising rookie season, has fallen on extremely hard times recording a 4.95 ERA, 81 ERA+ (100 is league-average), and -0.5 bWAR since the start of 2020. There just has not been much evidence over the last two seasons that Paddack, despite being highly touted not long ago, would provide the Mets with that much. At this point, it isn’t all that crazy that the club may be able to get more upside out of a guy like Tylor Megill who is already in the organization and showed flashes in his rookie season in 2021. At minimum, his production may very well be comparable to what Paddack would give you based on recent history.
Secondly, while I love that money is no object under the Steve Cohen ownership it does not mean that there are not foolish ways to spend it. Taking on the $59 million owed to Eric Hosmer over the next four seasons is simply not a way that a smart team should be allocating their money. Not to mention that this is a player that has been the least productive regular first baseman over the last three seasons — his 100 wRC+ and 0.7 fWAR since the start of 2019 rank 20th out of 21 first baseman who qualify over that time span. Also, with Pete Alonso and Robinson Canó already on the roster, it’s impossible to imagine when Hosmer would even receive any playing time — not that you’d even want to see him get any.
This also just doesn’t seem like proper asset management in the case of Dom Smith. While he is coming off of a down season, it just doesn’t make much sense for the Mets to move Dom in exchange for a pitcher who hasn’t lived up to the promise of his rookie season or a first baseman that the Padres have been begging teams to take off of their hands over the last year or so.
There is a difference between acting out of aggression and acting out of desperation. And while I appreciate the mindset, this trade seems to fall into that latter category. If I were the Mets, I would just hang up the phone and find a better avenue — even if that means going into the season with the roster they currently have in place.
Around the League 🚩
The Dodgers acquired RHP Craig Kimbrel from the White Sox in exchange for OF AJ Pollock (MLB.com)
The Guardians and RHP Emmanuel Clase agreed to a contract extension (El Extrabase)
The DBacks and RHP Merrill Kelley agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract extension (Passan)
White Sox LHP Garrett Crochet will likely require Tommy John surgery, per team GM Rick Hahn
The Blue Jays officially extended manager Charlie Montoyo through the 2023 with club options for both 2024 and 2025
MLB announced that umpires will provide in-stadium announcements during replay reviews starting this season