Mets Trade Rumors: Making sense of interest in Shane Greene, Joe Jimenez

Some of the latest New York Mets trade rumors have linked the Amazins to a pair of Detroit Tigers relief pitchers, Shane Greene and Joe Jimenez. Could they target them even as sellers?

According to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, the New York Mets at least made some attempt to bolster the bullpen in a positive way this summer. Fenech provided us with some early July Mets trade rumors with the information about how the Amazins checked in with the Detroit Tigers regarding the availability of relief pitchers Shane Greene and Joe Jimenez.

If you’ve been following Major League Baseball this year, you probably know Greene already. The 30-year-old Detroit closer is heading to the All-Star Game next week on the back of his 22 saves and 1.09 ERA.

Greene is a hot trade candidate and someone we’re all glad to see emerge in Mets trade rumors talk. While he owns an unproven track record of positivity, he was someone many wanted to see Brodie Van Wagenen acquire while having a career-year.

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Recently, with the Mets bullpen continuing to blow games, it feels far less likely.

The other guy, Jimenez, may still land with the Mets in a trade. There’s no reason why the Mets can’t start rebuilding the relief corps now. As a young pitcher who has “closer stuff,” Jimenez is someone teams see positively as far as potential goes.

Jimenez has yet to put things together at the big league level, owning an ERA of 5.83 after his first 114.1 innings pitched. This year, his ERA is only a few points below 5.00. What Jimenez does have are high strikeout numbers. In the minor leagues, he was absolutely dominant as a closer. So, there is an upside to him.

Many Mets trade rumors have focused on what the team will sell and to who. To see them reportedly still out there checking in on a pair of relievers comes as somewhat of a surprise. Although, “checking in” hardly qualifies as a team actually taking real action toward a move.

We have seen the Mets buy and sell at the same time. Let’s not forget how they acquired AJ Ramos back in 2017 from the Miami Marlins. Unfortunately, his time in New York was disastrous and included a 5.59 ERA in 49 appearances.

Jimenez is exactly the type of player I think the Mets would buy if the asking price isn’t too high. However, I would caution bringing him into this bullpen in 2019. It feels as if the performance is contagious. Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, and other underperformers are letting the mental aspect defeat them. I would hate to bring in someone from the outside in a lost season to catch whatever ails them.

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In addition to appearing in Mets trade rumors talk, Greene and Jimenez have been targets of the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that’s a situation which fits perfectly for any reliever. In which case, maybe the Mets are onto something by having an eye on them even if it’s an otherwise selling trade deadline season.