What’s urgent for the Mets in the trade market?

NEW YORK — Any forecast for the 2022 Mets, who are now nearly halfway through their season, would be incomplete without acknowledging that the club’s roster is likely to look quite different come August. And that’s not just because the team hopes to have Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer back by then, but also because they’ll almost certainly add reinforcements via trade.

In the Mets’ 9-1 loss to the Astros on Tuesday at Citi Field, in which Venezuelan starter Carlos Carrasco and reliever Chasen Shreve were pummeled by Houston, it was clear that the Queens ninth needed help in some areas. .

Will those players be key pieces of the team in the final stretch? Here’s a look at how aggressive GM Billy Eppler could be:

starting pitching
Urgency Level: low to medium
Possibly available: Francellis “Frankie” Montás (Athletics), Luis Castillo (Reds), Tyler Mahle (Reds)

Carrasco’s numbers have become alarming. The right-hander has an ERA of 5.83 in his last 12 starts since April, a 6.20 ERA in his last eight and a 14.85 ERA in his last two (the first of which coincided with a bout of back stiffness already reported). recovered.) It’s been four years since Carrasco was last consistently effective for a full season; In that stretch, he’s 18-20 with a 4.73 ERA in 62 appearances for Cleveland and New York.

Although Carrasco’s stats will intensify the call for the Mets to acquire a starter at the trade deadline, the team is likely to be cautious in this regard for two reasons.

1. The team aims to build something sustainable year after year, which means Eppler can’t afford to part with top prospects for a “rented” rotation arm. This is one area where the Mets’ financial advantage may not matter.

2. deGrom and Scherzer are expected to return in a matter of weeks, which could relegate Carrasco to the back of the rotation and possibly even lose his job. The Mets’ theoretical postseason rotation would include deGrom, Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and one of a group that includes Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Tylor Megill and David Peterson. That makes Carrasco’s performance less alarming lately.

The counterargument, obviously, is that the Mets have to prepare in case deGrom or Scherzer suffers another serious injury. But if that’s the case, competing for a World Series right away would become a more remote possibility. In a sense, using prospects to find a short-term solution would make less sense in that case.

bullpen
Urgency Level:
Tall
Possibly available: Andrew Chafin (Tigers), Gregory Soto (Tigers), Cionel Pérez (Orioles)

Shreve’s performance in relief of Carrasco on Tuesday — four batters facing each other, three earned runs, two home runs — emphasized that the Mets need help in relief. It’s an area in which the Mets will almost certainly make an impact move, given the disappointing performances of almost every reliever except closer Edwin Diaz.

Over the winter, the Mets never showed any serious interest in luxury free-agent lefties like Chafin, preferring to stay below the highest level of the Competitive Balance Tax and see how the bullpen fared in the first half of the season. That allowed Shreve to sneak into the big team with a minor league deal, but since then “it’s been difficult for him to get back to the consistent level that he gave us earlier in the season,” in the words of manager Buck Showalter.

Owner Steve Cohen has said he’s willing to push that limit with the Mets in good position to make the playoffs, putting the roster spots of players like Shreve at risk. The Mets could even add more than one reliever at the deadline, giving Showalter plenty of options down the stretch. Chafin could be on the club’s radar now, along with many other arms.

Offensive
Urgency Level:
Medium
Possibly available: Josh Bell (Nationals), Trey Mancini (Orioles), Willson Contreras (Cubs)

Going into this season, the Mets looked like the National League team in the best position to benefit from the arrival of a new universal designated hitter. But Robinson Cano was designated for assignment in May, Dominic Smith fell into a rut so deep he was briefly sent down to the minor leagues and JD Davis struggled to take advantage of the opportunities he got as a result.

Few would question Eppler if he tried to bolster himself in that regard with one of the heavyweight bats that would reportedly be available (Bell, Mancini, etc.), or if he replaced starting catcher James McCann with someone like Contreras. Although the offense has not been the weakest point of the Mets, a reinforcement never hurts. It would also give the Queens Ninth a chance to try to trade Smith or Davis, who are arguably candidates for a change of scenery, and thus satiate other needs.

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What’s urgent for the Mets in the trade market?