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.

The Mets add a “swingman” to their bullpen to work mostly as a long reliever

In addition to picking up Gray from the Rockies, the Mets will bring one more pitcher to town. This guy I can’t put a name to because I don’t know enough about the roles of pitchers on other clubs. For sake of sticking to the script, I’ll lie and say the crystal ball looks murky and I can’t quite make it out.

What I will define is the role this new guy will play on the Amazins.

Something troubling for the Mets has been their lack of starting pitching depth they thought they had quite secure. Injuries have set them back big time. This will lead to them adding an underwhelming arm before the trade deadline to work in a similar role as Robert Gsellman. The difference: this guy might be a little more stretched out.

I look for the Mets to add a guy starting somewhere else only to possibly take on a relief role for the majority of the time he’s in New York. I have trouble believing all of the Mets relievers will stay healthy through the rest of this season. Out of necessity, a move will need to be made.

This year’s Mets trade deadline won’t grab national headlines. The club was built too effectively in the offseason to warrant any major in-season deals of epic proportions. If the trade deadline is something you’re heavily interested in, prepare for the Mets to add two pitchers and nothing else.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

These predictions are subject to change dependent upon injury, opt-out, and boar attack.