Remember 1969: Open Thread

 

 

Open Thread:   Too early to talk trade?

 

We are about two months shy of the non-waiver trade deadline where the good clubs go to get that last piece to get them over the hump  to the playoffs and beyond and the bad clubs put out their shingle indicating ‘garage sale here’.

The Mets have made great mid-season trades (think Cespedes in 2015 and Clendenon on 1969) which really helped them and thought they were buyers in other years which fell flat (think Baez and Williams in 2021).

With a 32-17 record as I write this, Schertzer, deGrom and Megill are all on the shelf as we speak, and Jankowski is out while Nimmo is nursing his wrist on a day-to-day.    In the pen, Drew Smith took a hot shot off the pitching hand pinky on Sunday which so far sounds minor with no IL trip.    Of course James McCann is out for quite a while as well, depleting the catching corps.   Even Jeff McNeil took a night off on Sunday for ‘leg maintenance’ and is a DH on Monday.   

So my fellow Mets fans, let’s play GM for a few minutes.   Do the Mets need to make any moves now to avoid any kind of a “June Swoon” and keep the pedal to the metal and not let the other teams (Braves?) close any ground, or do they just keep going and believing the roster is deep enough to keep the good fortunes going until the injury list is reduced and the team is back to full strength. 

Obviously that last scenario is best case – who knows what could happen in the next couple months with their currently heathy crew.

Where are the risks?    Is another starting pitcher in order sooner than later?    Are Mazieka and Nido enough to get the job done behind the dish?    Is another bat in order?     Anybody worried about an injury to Lindor or Alonso?    What is the insurance – in house or via trade?    

Any reasonable trades out there?   Let’s discuss.

Remember’s Rumination:   In Reese’s recent article, he laid out an extremely valid case of trading for a starter with a year and a half of team control rather than a half-year rental.     I would certainly explore a trade for Frankie Montas now.  It would probably cost a bit in prospect capital and probably one of Dom Smith or J.D. Davis., but I figure Oakland would probably want minor league talent more.   

A lefty having a great season for a poor team is Martin Perez of Texas.   He would be a half year rental as he is a free agent after the season.   Might he be an option?  The team is still pretty right-sided. 

The MLB catching market is pretty thin.  Willson Contreras would be a good get from the Cubs, but is a free agent after the 2022 season.   I do not know about his defensive game or game calling skills, but I’d make the call to see what it would take.  

My Mets system untouchables for 2022 trading:   Francisco Alvarez, Matt Allan, Alex Ramirez, and I’d really like to hold on to Calvin Ziegler to really see what he has for the full year.  

Lastly, I hear everyone’s frustration about Dom Smith, but he is the best insurance for an ill timed Alonso HBP.    They would be pretty hurting if Pete went down for 6 weeks.