Mets Trade Deadline: Three arms to consider adding before the deadline

These three pitchers could help the New York Mets in their 2020 playoff pursuit.

Coming into this final week, before the August 31 trade deadline, the New York Mets find themselves in a precarious position of figuring out whether they want to be buyers or sellers going forward in 2020. Currently, they sit tied for ninth coming into this Friday’s play with the San Francisco Giants and just a half-game behind the Phillies for that final playoff spot in the National League.

So by no means,despite their poor and frustrating play at times in 2020, are they completely out of the playoff hunt just yet.

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen has gone on record with the media saying he doesn’t plan on being too bold or adventurous when it comes to making big-name trade acquisitions at the deadline. It does seem like both the Wilpons and the angry outcries of you, the Mets fans, has finally gotten to Brodie after some of his previous farm system trade blunders over the last two years.

But Van Wagenen did also mention that he would be “opportunistic” and wouldn’t rule out going after some under the radar pieces if the price was right.

I think we, as fans, can all agree that some of the most pressing needs on this team with the losses of Wheeler, Syndergaard, and Stroman from the starting rotation would be starting pitching depth. And not far behind that would be an upgrade or two in the bullpen to stabilize the Mets’ late-game pitching collapse issues.

I have listed three possible pitchers the Mets may target in a trade deadline acquisition that I think they can go after without having to give up anything major from the top crux of their farm system or from their current roster.

Mets Trade Candidate: Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn is a pitcher who I always admired and wished the Mets were able acquire or trade forever since he burst onto the scene with the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2012.

Lynn won 18 games in his first full year as a starter for the St. Louis Cardinals and has always proven himself to be anywhere from a high-end quality number three starter on a deep team to a low-end number one potential ace throughout his eight-year career. You always know you are going to get a battler who gives you quality starts and consistency when you throw Lance Lynn out there.

If the Mets were to acquire Lance Lynn he would undoubtedly be the second-best pitcher in their rotation and would make a formidable one-two punch with ace Jacob deGrom. Last year Lynn finished top 5 in the American League in Cy Young voting and with his 4-0 record, 1.59 ERA and 0.86 WHIP this year with the Texas Rangers, he looks to be the front-runner to win it.

Lynn is also signed through 2021 and is only expected to make $8 million next year. The problem is the Mets aren’t the only team out there that are looking to acquire the former All-Star. So if they were to land him it would surely take more than just a few low-level minor league prospects like it would if they were to acquire Dylan Bundy.

The Rangers will no doubt kick the tires and ask for someone like Andres Gimenez  and maybe Robert Gsellman in a package deal to make the trade happen. I know most Mets fans aren’t going to want to do that and I don’t wouldn’t do it either.

A second alternative that may work would be to package a prospect like Mark Vientos along with an established cost-controlled starter like Steven Matz to pique the Rangers’ interest in doing a deal. That is a trade I can live with.

Mets Trade Candidate: Trevor Rosenthal

The third arm I think the Mets would be prudent in making a deal for would be the Royals’ closer, Trevor Rosenthal. Rosenthal is a former All-Star who was dominant out of the bullpen as a closer with the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2014 and 2015. In those two years he posted 45 and 48 save seasons for the Cardinals respectively.

A severe elbow injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation cost him any chance to pitch well in 2017 and in 2018. In trying to make his come back during 2019, he was unable to find control of his pitches and struggled a lot in his stints with the Nationals and the Detroit Tigers.

Coming into 2020, Rosenthal was all but forgotten at this point  and signed a minor league contract with his hometown Kansas City Royals. He impressed early on in intrasquad games and the few spring training games the Royals played before the start of this shortened season. He showed he could hit triple digits on the radar gun with his fastball and mix it up effectively with his hard biting slider. Trevor has carried that success throughout the start of this season too.

Coming into this Friday, Rosenthal has converted 7 out of 8 save opportunities and is averaging 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings. His ERA is just a little over 3.00. But most of that was due to one bad save appearance a few days back, as he was dominating before that. Having a reliable closer like that at the back end of the bullpen will help the Mets greatly in these tightly contested late-inning games.

As of now, the Mets have gone with more of a bullpen by committee approach when it comes to closing their games with mixed results. Having that stable and reliable ninth inning guy will be a good change for this ball club, as it is usually a hallmark trait of successful baseball clubs.

The best part is I don’t think the Mets would have to give up a Dom Smith or an Andres Giminez type of talent to acquire Rosenthal. The Royals right now are looking for cheap and youthful prospects at all positions.

If the Mets are willing to part with a few teenage A-ball outfield prospects and maybe a pitcher like Corey Oswalt and Franklyn Kilome in a package deal – they could bring back both Rosenthal and a Jacob Junis type of pitcher. Both Junis and Rosenthal could go a long way to helping the Mets fill some much needed weak spots for now.

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What moves would you the fans like to see the Mets make? Perhaps there are some more under the radar players you wouldn’t mind them taking a crack at.