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Mets Trade Pitch: Sending Zack Wheeler and others to the Indians

By James Richards

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 29: Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets hits a grand slam against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on August 29, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 29: Todd Frazier #21 of the New York Mets hits a grand slam against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field on August 29, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 05: Jason Vargas #44 of the New York Mets celebrates his shutout against the San Francisco Giants with teammates Todd Frazier #21, Adeiny Hechavarria #11, Amed Rosario #1 and Pete Alonso #20 at Citi Field on June 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Cleveland acquires Zack Wheeler, Jason Vargas, and Todd Frazier

As things currently stand, the Indians are sitting in second place in the AL Central, behind the Minnesota Twins, and own the top AL Wild Card spot. Despite there competitiveness in 2019, they do have a few holes on their roster.

The biggest issue that the team has had this season is their starting pitching, as only 3 players have made more than 10 starts for the club, and they have dealt with inconsistent play and injuries from many key pitchers, most notably Corey Kluber.

Acquiring Wheeler and Vargas to help beef up the rotation would be a big improvement over what they are currently running onto the field.

Neither of them is putting up the flashiest of numbers at the moment, but they would provide consistency. As we saw last season, Wheeler can look like a dominant pitcher in the second half of the season. Last year he posted a 1.74 ERA in August and September of 2018.

As for Vargas, he has had his best years as a member of an AL team, particularly playing in the Central Division as a member of the Kansas City Royals, so a return to the division and some familiar batters could improve his performance as well.

Todd Frazier fits into this because he could provide depth at both first and third base. He is a solid right-handed option to serve as the DH for the tribe.

For the 2019 season, Frazier is known around the league to be a power hitter and is currently hitting .304 against left-handed pitchers, so he would be an upgrade over most of their current options on the bench.

As all three of these players are set to be free agents following the season, I would advise to Mets to also sweeten the deal and pay out the remainder of Vargas and Frazier’s salaries for the final two months of the season.

Doing this would give Cleveland more flexibility salary-wise to continue to acquire talent to aid their World Series aspirations. In return, the Mets could receive a better haul of prospects.

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