There’s a lot of work to be done on the roster ahead of 6pm tomorrow.
The Mets entered San Diego on a seven game win streak and, in the course of two days, killed the vibes dead with two bullpen-aided losses. This doesn’t fundamentally change anything about the club: they’re still up a half game over the Phillies for the division lead and the components that made the team successful are still in place. However, with Juan Soto leaving Tuesday night’s game with a foot contusion caused by a foul ball, Pete Alonso having a sore knee after an awkward play on the base paths, and the continued ineffectiveness of the relief corps, the last two games have shone a spotlight on what the Mets need to do in order to secure a playoff berth.
In a report for ESPN this morning, both Buster Olney and Jeff Passan described the Mets as ‘aggressive,’ with Olney adding that the Mets “may be the most aggressive club adding players.” But what player are the Mets looking to add?
The bullpen is the clear priority here. While the Gregory Soto acquisition has already shown the mercurial nature of relief pitchers in general and of Soto in particular, the Mets need more than just Soto in order to put together something resembling a functional bullpen. Yesterday, the Mets sent down Huascar Brazobán, who was more a victim of having options than actual poor performance, and brought back Chris Devinski, a veteran right-hander who had been perfectly acceptable in his early Mets appearances. He also perfectly gave up a three-run bomb to Manny Machado in the seventh inning last night.
And so when looking for bullpen help, the Mets likely need two different kinds of pitchers: they need a late inning reliever to join Edwin Díaz and allow folks like Soto and Reed Garrett to take on some earlier innings so that your José Buttó/Devenski meltdowns like happened last night are less likely, and they need some folks to enhance and/or bolster the low-leverage arms they already have.
MLB is lousy with the latter group, and the Mets have already been linked to a player from the former in Ryan Helsley. While two relievers would certainly help, the Mets could probably use three, if only to let the Brazobáns of the world get some respite in Triple-A for a few weeks and not be relying on the likes of quad-A players at the fringe of a first-place roster.
Part of the bullpen issue is a starting pitching issue as well. Although Sean Manaea wanted to go an extra inning last night after tossing five one-run frames, the Mest are still being cautious with Manaea and Kodai Senga after both spent big chunks of the season on the Injured List. Add to that the 18 earned runs given up across six starts by Frankie Montas and the fact that Clay Holmes is two starts away from doubling his innings count over the past three seasons, and there’s not a ton of confidence in this starting five to go deep into games right now.
There question the Mets need to pose is what type of starter are they looking to acquire. There have been numerous reports of a ‘front-line starter’ being the goal, but those players typically don’t come cheap, and the Mets may not want to damage their farm system on a rental. Names like Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks and Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera from the Marlins have been tossed around as likely available players from teams that are out of the hunt. Folks like Dylan Cease and Joe Ryan are also getting talked about, but with the Padres still in the Wild Card race and the Twins with team control for another few seasons for Ryan, those are going to be more costly acquisitions.
The Mets have done good work bolstering their farm system over the past three or so years, and part of that process is having players not just to develop and promote, but also to trade. And so the Mets, if they want impact players back, are going to have to part with some of their highly touted prospects. This may extend to one or more of the young infielders currently on the big league roster. It seems likely that one of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, or Luisangel Acuña will be moved at this deadline for an impact player of some note. And while all of those players have flashed brilliance this year, none of them are necessarily playing like the Vientos of the 2024 postseason, when he was among the most effective bats on the club, if not in the playoffs.
Speaking of offensive production, the Mets are being talked about as the frontrunners to land Luis Robert Jr. Robert is a fascinating player, an elite defender who, just a few seasons ago, hit 38 home runs. With lots of natural power and speed, Robert would allow Jeff McNeil to not play out of position and let Tyrone Taylor be a true defensive replacement/pinch runner instead of one of the least productive outfielders in the majors. Of all MLB outfielders, Taylor is 104th by fWAWR with a 23.7% strikeout rate with a .204/.260/.295 slash line.
Robert isn’t a slam dunk improvement, but his addition will place more of an offensive threat near the bottom of the Mets’ lineup. The other big name the Mets have been linked to is Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who would be the type of impact bat that would change the Mets’ lineup immediately. Early reports had the Mets and Yankees both in the Suárez sweepstakes, but when the Yankees traded for Ryan McMahon, they took themselves out of contention. With the Diamondbacks and Mets lining up on multiple fronts, it wouldn’t be surprising to see at least one player from the D-backs in orange and blue on Friday.
The other name that keeps coming up as a potential for the Mets is Brandon Lowe, the Rays second baseman. Lowe was reportedly pursued by the Mets at the deadline last season and, unlike many of these players, has a team option for 2026, so the Mets would be able to retain Lowe fairly easily if the fit was a good one. The Rays aren’t as out of contention as some of the other trade partners the Mets are talking with, but with three teams ahead of them for a Wild Card spot, time is likely running out for Tampa Bay.
Adding either Lowe or Suárez would substantially improve the Mets lineup, and also shuffle their existing players around in interesting ways. Jeff McNeil would return to his super sub role if Lowe and an outfielder were added, or if Suárez became a Met, Baty (if still on the club) would likely get more reps at second base. With Vientos out of options, with Suárez in the fold, he would likely get more designated hitter at-bats. But where does that leave Starling Marte, who reportedly is drawing interest from other clubs?
While neither seems too serious, the injuries to Soto and Alonso suffered in Tuesday night’s loss also show just how much this team could use a bat. Even with both of those players healthy, the Mets’ offense has never quite sparked consistently in the way that many fans dreamed it would after Soto signed his record-breaking deal with the team. And if one or both of those players are going to be sitting for a few days and/or playing banged up, some reinforcements would seriously help.
With the Mets reported ‘aggression’ with the market, Steve Cohen’s wide-open pursestrings. a winnable division, and some glaring holes in their roster, the Mets will likely be very active over the next day and a half. It seems unlikely that all the proposed upgrades-an impact bat, a starter, a center fielder, and a handful of bullpen arms-will all come to pass. However, stranger things have happened and, for a club that added four relievers, a left-handed DH, and a starter at 2024 deadline, it seems likely that the Mets don’t just stay put.