New York Mets are all in for 2020 or at least they should be

The New York Mets pulled off a surprising trade deadline deal by acquiring starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. In doing so, they must prove they are all-in for a championship pursuit in 2020.

The Brodie Van Wagenen regime pulled off yet another questionable trade on Sunday. All-Star pitcher Marcus Stroman will join the New York Mets for the rest of the year in what looks like a lost season. Heading to the Toronto Blue Jays organization are minor league pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Say what you want about prospects. They are men with potential to do great things with less of a guarantee to actually achieve those expectations.

Early reports from many experts say the Mets paid a lot to get Stroman in this deal. While it’s important to never cry too hard over spilled prospects, we have to acknowledge the Mets delivered a large sum to the Blue Jays in this deal. Their number four and six prospect are no longer with the organization. In return, they will have about a year and a half to convince Stroman to stay in Flushing long-term.

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The problem with this trade is fairly obvious. Stroman is a great pitcher, but a free agent after 2020. Where does this leave them after?

During this year’s draft, the Mets focused heavily on high school players. They got their main guys, including pitchers Matthew Allan (third round) and Josh Wolf (second round) as well as their first-round selection, third baseman Brett Baty. Though it was regarded as a really good draft, none of the three are close to MLB.

Since BVW took over for the Mets, the farm system has been gutted. Even beyond the infamous Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade, minor leaguers in the Amazins’ system have been on the move. They traded three players for J.D. Davis and another trio to bring them Keon Broxton.

After two years of trade deadline sales where they didn’t bring back anything significant, the team has back itself into a corner where they need their draft picks to excel.

Fortunately, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil are two players who did just that over the past two years. Imagine this organization without them. Would the Mets so freely move on from guys expected to contribute at the big league level sooner than later?

The good thing about the Stroman deal is the team gets better today. Tomorrow, it could all change depending on what else Van Wagenen has up his sleeve for this trade deadline.

Considering the roster now has six MLB starters, something else will need to go down before July 31. Unless they move one of these starters to the bullpen, it’s a surplus of players they don’t need at the moment.

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The Mets are all-in for 2020—are at least they need to be. Hopefully, in the next few days, they don’t convince themselves they’re a contender in 2019. There are better ways to build a baseball team than the way they’ve gone about things.