Every Monday morning, I make it a point to write about something relating to the New York Mets and transactions of the past, future, or present. Sometimes I’ll look back at trades the team has made with the benefit of hindsight. Other weeks, I’ll propose questions about what will happen next.
This week is kind of like the latter but it’s a much bigger dose of it. I’m going to look at three different Colorado Rockies starting pitchers for the Mets to consider trading for this summer.
Who are they? What will they cost? And which is the best fit? If you can stop watching the latest slowly released Marvel television show on Disney+ for only a few minutes, I’ll try to answer those questions.
German Marquez would be a huge investment for the Mets and a sign of things to come
German Marquez is likely on the trade block but maybe not as available as some people may think. Because he has already signed an extension with the Rockies, he’s a bigger payroll hit than some other pitchers his age yet to reach free agency for the first time.
Marquez’s contract locks him up through 2024 with a team option in that final year. The deal includes some incentives. I won’t bore you with that. What you want to know is whether or not he’ll be pitching for the Mets.
As much as the Rockies would probably like to get out from Marquez’s contract, I don’t see him getting traded for a light package. He may not be a household name but he’d cost close to it.
Every baseball fan knows Rockies pitchers have skewered numbers we cannot always trust. His lifetime ERA over 4.00 can be deceptive. His ERA+ has been positive in every full season of his career. At just 26-years-old, he also seems to fit the bill of what the front office in Flushing likes to add: young arms yet to reach their peak.
Trading for Marquez could be seen as a hedge against the possibility of losing Noah Syndergaard or Marcus Stroman in free agency. Marquez would practically ensure at least one of them is gone after this year.
The Mets would benefit greatly from a pitcher of his caliber on the roster. However, I feel the cost is too rich.