Paul Articulates - Man in the middle

It is getting very close to the trade deadline.  David Stearns has made it pretty clear that his target is to beef up the bullpen.  Great start with Greg Soto, a hard throwing lefty that gives the Mets two very talented left-handed relievers (Raley) to counter any opponent’s late inning threats.  Garrett and Stanek give you the same from the right side, and of course Diaz remains the closer.

So if you are Stearns, do you declare victory?  Or do you continue to add?  We have certainly seen some innings from Stanek that would suggest that the Mets are not yet comfortable with late inning relief.

In my eyes, the focus should shift towards the middle relief.  Butto is a well-established middle innings guy, and we have often speculated that Tylor Megill could become a great option to eat up 2-3 innings in middle relief.  Stearns has made it known that he considers the AAA talent pipeline as a viable option for that role.  

There is not much doubt that there is a need, with a starting rotation that fails to provide enough quality starts.  Aside from David Peterson, there is no one else in the rotation that can be trusted to give six innings per game.  Holmes is beyond his career norms for innings pitched in a season; Senga still only gives the Mets 4-5 innings long past his recovery from injury; and Manaea has not stretched out to give the team length.  

Carlos Mendoza continues to play a very conservative line with his starters, yanking them after the first hint of trouble following their 70th pitch.

There are several ways that one could look at the Mets’ roster at the MLB, AAA, and AA level and conjure up a middle innings solution.  But the other factor to consider is the position that the sellers are taking.  Several teams are in the market for future prospects, and may be willing to part with a strategic bullpen piece to get a promising infield prospect.  

In my post last Monday, I made the provocative case that the “baby Mets” were underperforming and could be considered as trade collateral for the right player.  The intent there was to shake things up on a passionless team, but now 7 games and 7 wins later they have found a way to start winning.  That does not invalidate the thought that at least one of the baby Mets could be considered for the right piece.  

They must have heard what I was thinking, because Alvarez has returned to the majors with renewed confidence and production at the plate, Mauricio went 4-4 last night with a homer and two doubles, and Baty has a .781 OPS in July.

Most of the talk in trade rumors is about starting pitchers and closers, so the middle relievers don’t get much play.  But if that is the need, the Mets could look at a guy like Ryne Nelson from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Nelson has quietly put together a 3.29 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP in 26 innings this year, and he has only walked 6 batters in the process.  

A middle-inning control guy is just what the doctor ordered, especially when it comes in a 27-year-old package that still has years of team control remaining.  The D-Backs will be in the market for a young third base prospect as soon as they trade Eugenio Suarez, and the Mets could offer Mark Vientos for Nelson and a minor league starting pitcher like Brandyn Garcia.

This is the kind of play that makes sense for the Mets and gives Vientos new life as a position player.  Would you make this deal?