Remember1969: Halfway to October!

 

And with an appropriate reference to Bon Jovi, it sure feels like we're living on a prayer!

Almost eighty games down and a few more than eighty to play  . . .  

The good news is that they are in first place.

The bad news is that they have scuffled a bit of late after the promising trip to Arizona and San Diego and a decent home series with the Cubs which coincides with Washington getting hot. 

The other good news is that the Mets have not had their hot streak yet, and Kyle Schwarber cannot hit like Babe Ruth forever.    I don't  really see the Phillies or Marlins going anywhere.   The Braves always seem to scare me, but they have issues as well. 

So now, what about the rest of the year?    There has been a lot of ink lately about the team needs and possible solutions to them.   I'll dump some more on top. 

Starting pitching:   In a season prediction piece I wrote back in March, I made a statement that "The Mets will not need to look for any starting pitching at the trade deadline."    I was wrong.  With Peterson leaving his last start with an as yet undisclosed injury, the need is even greater. 

Offense:   Beating a dead horse here - it has been awful.   They fired their hitting coach and nothing got better.  Maybe they should send all the hitting coaches away for pandemic reasons.  It seemed to work last year.  Unless things go 100% south this month, with their current position in the standings and the rest of the division playing poorly, it would seem that the Mets will be buyers at the deadline.    Perhaps they can catch 2015 Cespedes-like lightning again. 

Before I go into any mid-year trade options, I will take a little different direction.   Suppose the clubhouse chemistry is not as good as it appeared to be at one point.   Suppose the rat-coon issue is still not resolved and there are lingering issues between Lindor and McNeil.   Suppose Alonso's big talk is getting tired without the walk.   Everybody was on his case about his year last year, but he was better in 2020 than he has been in 2021.   Maybe his aura is bigger than his play?    Perhaps there are other issues.   Obviously, I don't know, but I do know that as a fan, McNeil and Alonso have both been very disappointing. 

So I'm going with those suppositions and making a couple fixes in the process:

(1)  Trade Pete Alonso to Baltimore for John Means.    Why would Baltimore do it?  They are quite a way from being contenders and they have some fine pitching in the mid-to-upper minors.   In a different deal, they would trade Mancini for some other prospect(s), opening up first base for Alonso.  

This puts to bed all the questions about Alonso/Smith.   Put Smith back in his natural position and keep him there. 

(2)  Trade Jeff McNeil and a prospect to Colorado for pitcher German Marquez and left fielder Raimel Tapia.    

This replaces Smith in left field and gives the team a lot more speed.  He has played mostly left, but has some time in center as well.   They'll need to decide on where to best put Nimmo when he returns.    

With these two trades, they have lost some power but gained speed and a lot of very solid starting pitching. 

Other options:   

Danny Duffy and Whit Merrifield from Kansas City.   Duffy is a half-year rental, Merrifield would be hard to get because of his 2022 salary and team control.

This week's popular chatter of Josh Donaldson and Jose Berrios.  Heck, let's go big and ask for Buxton (yeah, I know he is hurt and out for a while). 

Resurrect the Kris Bryant rumors.   He is having a pretty good year and is versatile, playing both 3rd base and all outfield positions.   If Chicago falls off this month, he may be available again and they couldn't ask for Alvarez for a half year rental.

As I watch Alonso once again ground out to shortstop with the tying run on third base, it just feels more desperate.   They have to do something!