Trade winds are blowing, Jacob deGrom feels good after sim game, and the Mets first half MVP

Jacob deGrom threw 60 pitches in a sim game in Port St. Lucie and felt fine afterwards

Nigel Cook/News-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾

• It turns out the reason Edwin Díaz did not pitch in the All-Star Game was an act of kindness on his own part (The Athletic)

• The Mets have reportedly shown interest in Baltimore’s Trey Mancini, Jorge López, David Robertson, and Andrew Chafin (SI)

• Multiple high ranking officials seem to think the idea of Juan Soto being traded to the Mets is a long shot (SNY)

• New York was linked on Thursday to several veteran bats—including C.J. Cron, Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, and Daniel Vogelbach (New York Post)

• The Mets weekend rotation against San Diego will be Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and Carlos Carrasco.

• Travis Blankenhorn is on his way to New York to potentially take the roster spot of Dominic Smith, who went on the injured list this week with an ankle sprain

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Injury Updates 🏥

• Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in scapula) threw around 60 pitches in five innings in his sim game in Port St. Lucie. He fine after his throwing session - his next step will either be another rehab start or rejoining the Mets

• Trevor May (stress reaction in humerus) threw an inning in the same simulated game and is nearing his own rehab assignment

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Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (58-35) vs Padres (52-42)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, New York

Starters: RHP Max Scherzer (6-1, 2.22 ERA) vs RHP Yu Darvish (8-4, 3.41 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Playoff Odds Tracker 🎲

• The Mets are in first place in the National League East, 2.5 games ahead of the Braves with 69 games to go. They are currently on pace to finish with 101 wins, which would be the most wins since 1988 (100) and their best single-season mark since 1986 (108)

• Playoff odds (FanGraphs):

  • Make the playoffs: 99.6 percent

  • Win the National League East: 63.7 percent

  • Clinch first round bye: 62.5 percent

  • Win the World Series: 14.0 percent

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The Mets’ first half MVP was Edwin Diaz…and it wasn’t close📝

There are a plethora of reasons the New York Mets have had sole possession of first place in the NL East since April 12.

Pete Alonso has been mashing baseballs out of the clean-up spot all year long. Francisco Lindor has rebounded handsomely in his second year in Queens. Max Scherzer has led a starting pitching staff that in some ways has overachieved. Jeff McNeil has bounced back, free-agent addition Starling Marte was an all-star, and New York has gotten clutch performances in big moments from depth pieces like Adonis Medina and Nick Plummer.

But the Mets first half MVP is closer Edwin Diaz—and it’s not even close.

It has taken four seasons in New York, but Diaz has done what previously seemed unthinkable, and that is make the trade Brodie Van Wagenen made to bring him here not look like a disaster.

Prior to the All-Star break, Diaz appeared in 38 of the Mets first 93 games. He’s thrown 37.1 innings and allowed only seven earned runs—a 1.69 ERA. His WHIP is under 1.00, his batting average against is sub-.200, and he’s converted 20 of his 23 save chances.

But the statistic that best illustrates how dominant the 28-year-old has been is his unprecedented strikeout rate. Diaz has already punched out a mind boggling 75 hitters—67 percent of his outs have come by way of the strikeout and he’s fanned 51.7 percent of the batters he’s faced overall. Relief pitchers don’t typically have the innings needed to qualify for this, but for reference—Shane Bieber’s 14.19 K/9 ratio in 2020 is the best of all time.

Diaz’s big season couldn’t have come at a better time for him personally. He’ll be a free agent at year-end and is setting himself up for a significant offseason payday, although he told reporters during the All-Star break he would like to remain with the Mets long-term. Keeping him in Queens long term will be one of the primary objectives for General Manager Billy Eppler this winter, but in the meantime there are more pressing things to worry about.

The 2022 Mets have a legitimate chance to make a deep postseason run, and they’re hoping to have Díaz on the mound in some enormous October moments later this fall. And if the season’s first three months were a prelude of things' to come, they have every reason to be confident if that were indeed the case.

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Down on the Farm 🌾

All Mets affiliates were off on Thursday

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Around the League 🚩

• The Astros beat the Yankees not once but twice on Thursday, pulling within 2.5 games of the Bombers for the top record in the AL

• Detroit and Oakland split their own double header

• Texas shut out Miami 8-0—the Marlins have now gone 34 consecutive innings without scoring a run

• San Francisco signed free-agent relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal

• Baltimore has agreed to terms with last weekend’s number one overall pick, Jackson Holliday