Mets Trade Pitch: Sending Zack Wheeler and more to the Rangers

Three players headed to Texas

While the Mets were expected to compete in 2019 and sadly floundered, the Texas Rangers have seemingly come out of nowhere this season. After finishing last in the AL West in 2018, they had a record of 50-42 entering Saturday. At the moment, they are in the mix for a Wild Card berth.

The most impressive part of their run this season is that they are receiving massive contributions from veteran players whom they signed on cheap, one-year contracts, such as Lance Lynn, Hunter Pence, and our old friend Asdrubal Cabrera.

However, they are far from a complete team, and despite their success this season, they are still struggling to get production from several key positions.

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Specifically, if the team hopes to compete this postseason, they could use another quality starting pitcher as well as a catcher and a first baseman. Their current starters at each position are struggling, with their catcher Jeff Mathis hitting .159 and first baseman Ronald Guzman hitting .209.

Luckily, the Mets have players available to be traded at each of these positions. As stated earlier, the bigger the trade that New York makes, the bigger the haul they should receive.

I propose that the Mets trade away pitcher Zack Wheeler, catcher Wilson Ramos and first baseman Dominic Smith to the Texas Rangers in return for prospects.

Wheeler will be a free agent at the conclusion of the season and would help improve Texas’ starting rotation down the stretch. A good hitting catcher is hard to come by, but Ramos has put together a solid season, and is signed through the 2020 season. This means he has more value because the Rangers will get an additional year out of him.

The one oddball in this group is Smith. Although he is having a good year, batting .304 with 8 home runs, and is under team control through the 2024 season, there’s no real fit. Pete Alonso has cemented himself as the first baseman going forward. I do not see Smith as a long-term fit in the outfield.

Seeing as he is currently having such a productive year, it would make sense to capitalize on it and trade him away. He would have a chance to potentially thrive with the Rangers and the Mets could get a player who better suits their needs.

Many of you may be curious about what I envision the Mets getting in return for such a large deal. Well, I have three prospects in mind.