Reese Kaplan -- Three Wheels Have Come Off Already...

When it rains, it pours.

At a time when the Mets are still on the precipice of deciding if instead of their usual do-nothing approach to things, they were going to make the decision if they were going to be buyers or sellers with the trading deadline a week away.  I won't rehash the same arguments both ways, either of which could be a completely valid approach.

Then the injuries came...

First the club lost Starling Marte due to what has been termed an inability to deal with nausea as an accompanying symptom to his migraine issue which rendered him unable to play for a few days prior to hitting the IL.  

Next, Tommy Pham who should have been the easiest of any of the prospective trades to make instead went down with groin pain which has left him technically on the active roster but also sitting on the bench after he'd made himself into a productive hitter.  

Then on Sunday reserve infielder Luis Guillorme limped awkwardly off the field after aggravating his calf muscle and he was promptly added to the IL as it is not going to be an overnight healing process.

In the place of Starling Marte the Mets brought up (and even once started) Mark Vientos at...wait for it...Designated Hitter.  Guess what?  He hit.

For Guillorme the Mets are taking their second look at Danny Mendick.  Now no one is really going to give them major grief about seeing a 29 year old AAAA player with no speed and limited power while hitting .248, fans were instead looking to see the club make shortstop-turned-second baseman Ronny Mauricio the recipient of a brief look against major league pitching.  You remember Mauricio, right?  The guy with 16 HRs, the last being the 9th inning game winner?  Nah, the club doesn't need his talent on the major league roster at all.

So if you are GM Billy Eppler what do you now do with the trade deadline rapidly approaching?  

The first order of business would be to order up eye of newt and pixie dust or whatever it takes to heal Tommy Pham enough to make two more starts before August 1st.  If that indeed happens then his reconstituted butt will be on a jet plane to an opposing team's next ballpark right away.  

Without Marte around, the Mets are indeed thin on outfielders.  Many felt Mark Canha would be quickly out of town as well, but that would now just leave Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil as competent outfielders if you acknowledge the likelihood of Pham's departure.  Consequently the Marte injury might have breathed Mets life into Mark Canha.

Now with the infield question settled by Mr .Mendick, it would appear that Mauricio's only hope for a major league debut would be during the limited roster expansion come September.  It also means that the somewhat unlikely trade of Luis Guilorme is now off the table as it is highly unlikely to make trades with folks who aren't on the active roster.

As a GM, what would you do?  Do you curtail the sell-all tendencies?  Do you try to shuffle the deck chairs on the Mets Titanic to keep things as they are?  Although Marte was slumping all year long and Luis Guillorme is not going to make anyone forget major league regulars any day soon, the fact is that the Mets' already woefully thin prospect of mounting an eleventh hour and equally unlikely climb out of the cellar to reach post season baseball is now all but gone.  

Yes, it's good to see Mark Vientos back (if he actually gets to play).  It would have been nice to see Ronny Mauricio.  Still, if 2023 is indeed over, why keep running the same script night after night expecting things to change?  It's time to put red flashing lights around the "Open for Business" sign on the front door.