Reese Kaplan -- So Who Should David Stearns Target This Month?

The Mets continue their treadmill spinning without making any significant moves of major league solid players added to their roster while they remain a half game back of the division leading Philadelphia Phillies.  While the horrific June slump occurred nothing at all was done except DFA and AAAA type players.  Now that things are going better there has been no change in the script.  Doing nothing continues to be the standard method of operation.

Now many people tell me that things will change with the midyear trading deadline which approaches in less than two weeks.  Yes, that is indeed possible, but it also suggests that the club was content with tossing away nearly 100 games of the schedule in the hopes that whatever move (or moves) made will somehow cement their position in October baseball.

Well, we can’t change what hasn’t happened, so instead let’s take a look at things that could or should take place to fortify the roster.  The needs remain the same for help in the bullpen, help in center field and clarity in the infield.  There has been little positive production out of DH and the catching situation continues to be a mess.  So who should be on the David Stearns’ radar?

The first one he should be looking at is the Pirates’ closer, David Bednar.  Bringing him in — a two-time All Star — would fortify the bullpen in a major way.  He’s still young, earning reasonably little for what he has accomplished and would give them the eighth inning guy they’ve missed badly since the season began.  In addition, he’s still arbitration eligible for next season meaning he will be here for more than just August, September and hopefully October.  He also provides an excellent backup position for Edwin Diaz who may or may not exercise his option to become a free agent if after his stellar 2025 season he feels he could earn more on the open market.  If that happens then the Mets would have a highly credible closer ready to step in to that huge vacancy.  It would take some decent but not necessarily top prospects to engineer a trade to bring him to New York.

The flip side would be to bring on a rental for the same purpose with Aroldis Chapman being the top of that list.

The center field options have been addressed in previous articles but the name Cedric Mullins keeps popping up on many folks’ radar as a buy low rental for the remainder of the 2025 season.  Mullins is an interesting player who has outstanding defense and great baserunning speed with decent home run power.  Back in 2021 he looked to be a star in the making.  He hit .291, hit 30 HRs and stole 30 bases.  He won a Silver Slugger and made the All Star team. 

Since then his career more or less parallels that of similar one-time slugger Luis Robert, Jr.  His high water mark in HRs since then has been 18 in 2024.  The stolen bases remain high but the batting average has steadily dwindled each season down to .218 this year.  He would provide good defense, speed and some power for a moderate balance of the $8.75 million salary he’s earning this year, but he’s a free agent at year’s end and what he would deliver isn’t exactly top notch.

The rest of the CF options have been discussed.  Byron Buxton allegedly won’t waive his no-trade clause.  The Red Sox may not want to part with young Jarred Duran.  The White Sox obviously would like out from under the Luis Robert, Jr. deal.  The Twins being in a playoff position may not want to lose former Met Harrison Bader either. 

For the DH, well, Starling Marte while healthy was delivering an impressive rise in batting average from the very poor start.  However, he is a free agent at year’s end and his defensive decline suggests when healthy DH is all he has left to contribute.  Jesse Winker is on a one-year deal, hurt again, and also a free agent at year’s end. 

The question becomes whether the combination of the two of them when deemed able to play is sufficient, would a hopefully revitalized Mark Vientos make sense or should the club look outside for assistance?  Given the fact that both incumbent DHs are free agents at year’s end and together don’t provide a lot of run production, it may make sense to find someone who can not only help in 2025 but perhaps longer.  Any strong bat would help here from either side, though the platoon loving Mets would probably desire a left handed one as they have Vientos from the right side.

Regarding the infield, so far Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna have not clearly established themselves as the answers at second base nor third base.  I’m leaving Vientos out of this equation as his future is as a DH or at first base if Pete Alonso once again tests free agency. 

Towards that end the names Eugenio Suarez and Ryan McMahon are possibilities.  Suarez is having a monster year, hitting .250 with 31 HRs and 78 RBIs at the All Star break.  He currently earns $15 million and the Mets would have to cough up the final two months proportion of that salary before Suarez become a free agent for his age 34 season in 2026.  The price to get him would be inflated by his numbers but tempered a bit by his pending free agency.

Now McMahon’s numbers are not quite as glossy and his batting average for the 2025 season is just .212.  He’s a 22 HR per season hitter for his career but with a ton of strikeouts and a career .240 average.  Bear in mind those numbers come with the Coors Field advantage, too.  He earns $12 million this year and is on contract for two more seasons at $16 million.  What it would take to obtain him would not be excessive but I’m not sure he’s significantly better than what is already here at minimum major league wage.

Finally there’s the catcher situation.  Bring back Francisco Alvarez.  End of analysis.  Neither Luis Torrens nor Hayden Senger contribute nearly as much offensively as we have seen in the past from Alvarez.  His AAA demotion has reignited his home run power.  We need any extra RBIs possible from anyone.