Mets Trade Rumors: Expect a quiet, predictable July of selling

Early New York Mets trade rumors indicate we should expect few surprises this July. If they remain in a position to sell, it’s the veterans on expiring contracts who will move and for salary relief.

Over the last two seasons, the New York Mets have been trade deadline sellers. During this time, they haven’t done much more than move players on expiring contracts. Fortunately for them, many veterans were playing in the final year of their deal which made it an easy choice to move them. Recent Mets trade rumors suggest we’ll see more of the same.

Early Mets trade rumors have offered little more than confirmation of the obvious. The team’s trade block includes the man we all expected to be on the move if this was a losing season, Zack Wheeler. In addition to him, Todd Frazier and Jason Vargas have played themselves into a position to get dealt.

Vargas is particularly interesting. His recent “skirmish” with the media last Sunday has the front office upset. As Wallace Matthews of Yahoo Sports covered, an unnamed Mets official spoke about how unpleased the organization is with him. Unlike last year where fans were unhappy with his performance on the field, the front office is angry with how he handled himself in the locker room.

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Anthony DiComo of MLB.com gave some insight into specifics of what we could see from the Metropolitans. His Mets trade rumors don’t list any destinations quite yet. Instead, he focuses on how the team is expected to go the familiar route. They are hoping to shed salary and move those veteran pieces on expiring contracts.

Once again, we can expect the Mets to make deadline deals to save money and not bolster the farm system. It’s a disappointing fact to face. The one silver lining, if true, is that the team isn’t about to blow the whole thing up.

The Mets, for all of their struggles, have a strong controllable core in place. They have an abundance of young position players who all have enough talent to win. Next winter, there won’t be much else to add to this department.

Though we look at the trade deadline as a time for sellers to add minor league talent, it’s uncommon for anyone to sell major prospects. Even if the Mets were willing to eat a large portion of these veterans’ contracts, none are impactful enough to bring back any superstars on the farm.

This doesn’t mean the Mets are hopeless at the trade deadline. Sometimes those mid-level prospects turn into something special. After all, when they added Yoenis Cespedes in 2015 it cost them future Rookie of the Year winner Michael Fulmer. Other teams have paid a higher price even for rentals.

Per the Mets trade rumors, it doesn’t seem as if we’ll see the team move any controllable players. This means no Noah Syndergaard deal. Chances are, they hold onto Seth Lugo, too.

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I’m prepared for a rather uneventful July of Mets trades. Even if they continue to lose, I’m doubtful they make a 180 degree turn and sell more pieces than they must.