Trade Deadline Tracker: Will Bartolo Colon or Daniel Murphy be Traded? Will the Mets go after Carlos Gonzalez?

With approximately 26 hours left before the trade deadline the Mets front office has a handful of questions that need to be addressed.

 A) Will Bartolo Colon be Traded?

• Market Summary 

     Alderson's ability to trade Colon is based solely on the supply within the market. With Colon already being in his 40's and having $11m owed to him next year, he is likely to be most team's second or third option. These same reasons are likely going to prevent Alderson from gaining much value in return for Colon. One advantage that Alderson does have though is the fact that Colon will most likely pass through the August trade waivers without being claimed. This pretty much extends the trade deadline to August 31st for Sandy much like the situation with Marlon Byrd last year.

• Supply

     At first it seemed like the market was going to be pretty bare this year. The Tampa Bay Rays sudden resurgence back into the playoff hunt had many believe that they would hold onto David Price. In addition, many expected the Red Sox to continue to try and extend Jon Lester who has repeatedly stated that he wants to stay in Boston. However, neither is the case and both top flight pitchers are on the market. In fact, over the past 48 hours, the market has become quite diluted with available SP's.

     In addition to Price and Lester, the Phillies have been trying to trade their entire rotation (Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, AJ Burnett, Kyle Kendrick, and Roberto Hernandez), the Red Sox are trying to trade John Lackey (who has a very favorable $500k salary in 2015) and have already trade Jake Peavy. There's also San Diego's Ian Kennedy, Colorado's Jorge De La Rose, Astros' Scott Feldman and David Keuchel, and Indians Justin Masterson.

• Demand

     There are reportedly 7-8 teams in the hunt for SP right now with all of them being focused on Lester at the moment. The LA Dodgers are one of the teams who possess enough young talent to grab Lester. The other teams in play include the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland A's, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the recent news about Matt Cain's elbow the San Francisco Giants could also re-enter the market for another SP.

B) Will Daniel Murphy be Traded?

• Market Summary

     If Daniel Murphy is truly available on the open market, then he becomes the #1-A/B guy available in the second base market this year behind Tampa Bay Rays 2B/SS/OF Ben Zobrist. Both guys are cost controlled through 2015, so neither has an advantage there, and both provide excellent contact abilities, a small bit of power, a sneaky amount of steals, and good clubhouse leadership. 

• Supply

     Right now, Murphy and Zobrist are the only real good options. After them you have Aaron Hill (who's having a career worse year and is owed $12m in 2015 and 2016), Martin Prado (who hasn't played 2B since 2010), and Gordon Beckham (who has a .687 OPS). The Phillies could decide to trade Chase Utley if they become intent on entering a full rebuild mode, but, Utley has already noted that he will not waive his veteran status earned 10-5 rights.

• Demand

     While you may not think the Mets and Rays would get a whole lot for two guys who's OPS hovers around an ok, but, not impressive .760. However, the demand for 2B is very high this year with 8 teams looking to improve at the position. The Cardinals, A's, Atlanta Braves, Orioles, Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Giants, and the Washington Nationals all rank in the lower 3rd in terms of 2B production with all 8 of them possessing a weighted Runs Created that is 24% or more below league average.

C) Will the Mets Trade for OF Carlos Gonzalez or SS Troy Tulowitzski?

• Market Summary

     The OF market this year is almost non-existant. Most of, if not all, the teams in the hunt for a playoff spot either are stacked in the OF, or are perfectly content with their respective OF dynamics at the moment. Teams looking to re-tool for a playoff run in 2015 could nab a pretty good deal. As for the SS market, again, most playoff teams have the SS they need already. The Giants and the Cincinnati Reds though could use an upgrade to try and right their sinking ships.

• Supply

     There are plenty of OF'ers for sale right now. The Dodgers are trying to trade Matt Kemp, the Phillies are trying to rid themselves of Marlon Byrd and Dominic Brown, and the Padres are trying to get rid of all 3 of their OF'ers (Quentin, Venable, and Denorfia. Red Sox Mike Carp is also now in the mix after he requested the front office trade him so he could get more playing time. The Texas Rangers are now also dangling Alex Rios too. The Rockies have not officially placed Carlos Gonzalez on the block.

     For SS's the supply is also pretty healthy. Indians are trying to move Astrubal Cabrera to make room to promote Francisco Lindor so he may go for pretty cheap. White Sox could capitalize on a career season for Alexei Ramirez. The Phillies may try to deal Jimmy Rollins but, just like with Utley, he possesses 10-5 rights and may not waive them. There's also Elvis Andrus and his large contract and poor performing Stephen Drew. Troy Tulowitzski is reportedly disgruntled in Colorado but, like with Cargo, the Rockies have not made him officially available.

• Demand

     As stated earlier, the market for both OF and SS is pretty small. Generally it is limited to teams with playoff aspirations but are in massive cold streaks and falling quickly behind. The Reds have been in a nosedive ever since they lost Brandon Phillips and could use a SS to move Cozart to 2B. They are also reportedly 1 of 4 teams trying to get Alex Rios. The Giants could really use an upgrade at SS and CF with an injury to Angel Pagan and unimpressive production from SS Brandon Crawford.

     For the Mets, they have contacted the Rockies about both Carlos Gonzalez and Tulowitzski. At this point in time Cargo is more likely to be traded, albeit its a small possibility. He's owed $53m over the next 3 years but is a heavy buy low candidate with his poor production this year. In exchange for a higher level prospect, the Rockies could kick back some money to cover the contract costs. He's a perennial 20 HR/20 SB guy but his home/away splits have been very wide and may not play well in Citi Field.