NY Mets: 3 bold and way too early trade deadline predictions

The 2021 MLB trade deadline will happen on July 30 this year. Still weeks away, many New York Mets fans are checking around the league at some possible additions the club could make.

The Mets, in need of upgrading almost exclusively as a result of injuries, should have an active trade deadline—at least as far as rumors are concerned. We witness this over the winter. Every available free agent seemed to have some link to the ball club.

Even if it’s terribly early to know exactly what it is the Mets will see before the deadline passes, I thought it would be worth making some predictions. Why not? The early a prediction, the more you can pound your chest when you get it right.

The biggest grab the Mets make is for a rental starting pitcher

I’ll get to the name I think the Mets will add a little later. First, let’s review why a rental is the direction the Mets will go.

Adding anything more than a guy they can keep around for the end of this year essentially means they are moving on from Marcus Stroman or Noah Syndergaard. I don’t think this is a thought the front office wants anyone to have. They’ll be mindful of this; unless of course they’re able to steal a multi-year player at the deadline.

This isn’t an entirely bold prediction. The boldness comes from putting a name on paper. Or in this case, pixels.

Jon Gray has become my official pick for who they will end up with. A member of the tanking Colorado Rockies, he’s a free agent after this season and a guy the Mets could fall in love with and re-sign over the winter. There’s a nice strategy to this. If Stroman and/or Syndergaard walks, it would be easier to bring Gray back.

I like Gray and do think he’d improve on a ball club without a bandbox stadium where balls travel a little further. He won’t come too cheaply, but I do think he’s someone the Mets may be able to afford without losing much from their farm system.