NY Mets: 4 players at the top of my trade deadline wish list

The 2021 New York Mets season has been one of the strangest ones I can remember. They have had 11 postponements due to rain, snow, and a COVID outbreak. There was also a point when the Mets had 17 players on the injured list. Despite all the adversity, the Mets ahead of everyone else in the division The rest of the division has dealt with injury issues as well and some teams have underperformed.

While the Mets have a good record, I do believe the team has overperformed a bit.

The Mets have not faced much difficult competition, and when they have, they did not perform well. But, there have been many bright spots.

The pitching has been unbelievable. Taijuan Walker, a guy the Mets signed just before Spring Training to fill out the rotation, is 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA in his 10 starts. Marcus Stroman has a 2.66 ERA in his 11 starts. And of course, Jacob deGrom has allowed a total of four earned runs in his eight starts.

The bullpen also has been unbelievable. Miguel Castro has turned into a reliable setup man for Edwin Diaz. Trevor May for the most part has been the same. Aaron Loup has been better than I expected. Guys like Sean Reid-Foley and Robert Gsellman are giving the Mets very quality length. And Jeurys Familia has looked like the 2015-2016 Familia that was dominant.

The pitching is why the Mets are currently in first place, but with a hard schedule coming up and none of the big bats like Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, and J.D. Davis close to returning, the Mets might have to make some moves to help.

The trade deadline is still a little less than two months away, but there’re some intriguing names I think might be available that would provide some much-needed help to a banged-up team.

Kris Bryant

This name was discussed a lot during the offseason as a potential trade candidate. He was a guy I was very interested in as I am not a believer in J.D. Davis’ defense at third base and believed Bryant was better than the player he was last year.

Bryant is slashing .316/.397/.607 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI this year and has been a huge reason that the Cubs sit in first place in the NL Central.

While Bryant would be a huge pickup, there are some reasons why I believe a trade might not happen. First, the Cubs are in first place. If they remain in first place closer to the deadline, I doubt they move him. Second, he’s a free agent after the year. If the Cubs ask for too much, a deal should not happen for a guy that will only be here for a couple of months. I don’t think the Mets are just Kris Bryant away from winning the World Series.

However, if the Mets and Cubs can find a good deal I’d be all over it. With all the injuries the Mets have, they could really use his versatility. Bryant has appeared in 10+ games at first base, third base, left field, and right, and has also appeared in eight games in center field. With the Mets’ current outfield alignment featuring a guy who is playing with a broken nose, and two players who have been Mets for less than two weeks, they could really use the outfield help.

Bryant would be a big right-handed bat to hit right in the middle of the Mets lineup and provide some much-needed power. The Mets leader in home runs right now is Pete Alonso with seven. Bryant has almost double that total. It’s hard for a team to score a ton of runs if they don’t hit for any power.

Do I think a Bryant trade will happen? Probably not. But he would be such a perfect fit for many reasons and is a name I definitely want the Mets to consider.

Taylor Rogers

One of the bigger surprises this year for teams that are struggling has to be the Twins. They won the AL Central in back-to-back years but this year sit at 22-35, last in the division and the second-worst record in the American League. One of their strengths coming into this year in my opinion was their bullpen. Alex Colome and Taylor Rogers were supposed to be a dominant closer duo. Colome has disappointed, Rogers has been very solid. Considering the Twins are likely to be out of contention, I think Rogers is a guy that is very likely to get dealt at the deadline.

The Mets signed Aaron Loup to be their lefty out of the bullpen. While he’s been pretty good so far, I don’t really like the idea of only one lefty in the bullpen. Once guys like Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard come back, I’m sure that one of Joey Lucchesi or David Peterson will go to the bullpen and could be that second lefty, but I’d rather the Mets trade for someone like Rogers.

Rogers is a guy who has been a very effective reliever for the entirety of his career and is someone I would trust to get big left-handed hitters out. In the National League East alone there’re three left-handed boppers that scare the life out of me in any big moment. Those guys are reigning MVP Freddie Freeman, former MVP Bryce Harper, and future MVP Juan Soto.

In his career, Rogers has held lefties to a .205/.269/.288 slash line allowing just seven home runs in 400 plate appearances.

Rogers has one year of arbitration left following this year so the Mets will have an extra year of team control with him if they decide to pull the trigger on a deal. Considering the Twins will likely be out of contention and eager to get something for him before his value worsens as an expiring contract, I think the Mets should try to get something done.

While he is dominant against lefties, he can also get a righty out. A setup core of Lugo, Castro, May, and Rogers in front of Edwin Diaz should be lights out. He would be a huge addition to an already really solid bullpen.

Eduardo Escobar

In 2019, Eduardo Escobar had an outstanding season and nobody really talked about him. He slashed .269/.320/.511 with 35 home runs and 118 RBI. He hit in the middle of the Diamondbacks order and along with Ketel Marte, kept them in contention for a National League Wild Card spot for much of the season.

However, Escobar struggled last season, so his stock fell. But this season, he’s gotten back to hitting for power. He is slashing .244/.291/.466 with 14 home runs and 14 RBI.

The average and on-base skills might not jump off the screen, but the things he provides that the Mets desperately need are power and versatility. Escobar’s 14 home runs have him just four behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the league lead.

While the Mets are shorthanded, Escobar would be a huge get. They could stick his bat in the middle of the lineup and get some runs with one swing at a time where they have struggled to score runs for the most part.

Once players like J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil come back, then it might be time to reassess how many at-bats he’d get but since he is a guy that can play second base, third base, and shortstop, I would imagine he’d get plenty of playing time.

Escobar is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent after this season. If they feel that they don’t have a spot for him on next year’s team, they can just let him walk. The Diamondbacks sit in last place in the NL West and have the worst record in baseball at 20-39. They likely won’t be looking to extend the 32-year-old Escobar, so they will try to get whatever they can for him. Considering they will be sellers and he’s an expiring contract, I don’t expect it to take too much to get him. He would be a huge boost for now to this banged-up lineup, and once everyone is healthy, he could even be a bench bat.