NY Mets have major leaguers to sell, but is anyone buying?

The New York Mets have a few major league players they could potentially move this winter. Can they find the right buyer to strike a deal?

The New York Mets have yet to make a major trade this winter. Chances are, they may skip out altogether on making the splashy swap with another team. Offseason trades aren’t necessary to build a winning ball club when you have an owner that could conceivably outbid everyone else for the most talented free agents.

Nevertheless, it’s important for the Mets to at least listen to what other teams have to offer. I’m sure they are and will continue to do so. After all, they have a surplus of major league talent vying for a roster spot in 2021.

In some cases, calling these players major leaguers is debatable. Some of the warm bodies they Mets have overflowing from the roster are probably better-suited starring or growing in Triple-A. Others are closer to retirement.

A crowded bullpen in Flushing

Aside from the obvious roster crunch facing the Mets with major league position players when/if they add more, we need to also look at the bullpen. There is no guarantee which of these arms is on the Opening Day roster. However, can safely assume a few of the names.

Edwin Diaz and Trevor May seem like locks. Seth Lugo will be there in some capacity, possibly even as a starter until Noah Syndergaard returns from the IL. Outside of those three, the club has a few options to explore.

Unless dealt away in a trade, Dellin Betances and Jeurys Familia will be in the Mets bullpen taking up a roster spot and eating up some payroll. How either will perform in 2021 is up in the air right now. Familia is coming off of a statistically better season than he had in 2019. Betances, meanwhile, is looking to prove he has something left in the tank.

If you’re keeping count, things are getting crowded. Then there’s the group of guys like Brad Brach, Miguel Castro, and Robert Gsellman. Where does Steven Matz fit into all of this, too? Let’s not forget about Drew Smith either. Newcomer Sam McWilliams is also with the club on a major league contract as well.

The Mets certainly have a need to add one more trusted reliever to the bullpen. In order to do so, they would need to shed a roster spot at some point before Opening Day or possibly demote an unexpected arm. There has been some speculation about the team possibly dumping Familia off in a trade for a big contract. I would welcome such a move even if it’s not a star player they’re getting in return.

The club has relievers and a few good position players to trade—namely Amed Rosario, J.D. Davis, and maybe Brandon Nimmo are three of the most likely to get shopped. Heck, let’s throw Dominic Smith in there to see if someone blows us away with a deal.

All of this is great in a seller’s market. Unfortunately, that’s not what this offseason appears to be. More teams are looking to decrease payroll. This could leave the Mets with a peculiar problem: more depth than they know what to do with.

But hey, it’s not all bad for the Mets

Depth is a great thing for anyone to have in any business. In sports, when one bad swing or one wrong step off the mound can sideline a player, it’s especially good to have some trusted people in your cavalry.

The offseason trade rumors involving the Mets seem to have included two major points: interest in just about every breathing free agent and a desire to add a big star via trade.

Lacking in these rumors is what the Mets could actually give up to acquire those assets. We’ve seen trades proposed by places like SNY and even here on Rising Apple by our writers. This is all just the at-home version of Major League Baseball GM—the parting gift given as a consolation prize to teams after they lose in the World Series, I think.

Thus far, the Mets have yet to find a trade partner for one of these deals involving a notable name. There’s still plenty of offseason left to do it. And if the Groundhog sees his shadow on February second, we may get even more.

The Mets have more than one trade in them with the number of players they have available to deal away. It seems they could pull off one blockbuster deal and surrender a pair of major leaguers plus some minor league talent. Even after this, the organization may want to look at flipping someone on a major league deal for someone with a shorter resume.

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Baseball is a game about numbers. One of those is finding a way to fit the best men possible on your limited-sized roster.