3 bold NY Mets trade deadline predictions with only two weeks to go

The MLB trade deadline is officially two weeks away. Where has the time gone? Our children are learning new skills. Dinner has gotten cold. There’s a Dear John letter from the wife explaining how lonely she has felt all month because you’ve spent way too many long nights reviewing center field defensive statistics to try to justify keeping Tyrone Taylor around. This is the shared experience of many New York Mets fans in July, hungry for a championship.

Bigger than the MLB Winter Meetings, the strict deadline of a cease fire on July 31 will have Mets fans speculating over the next two weeks about who should stay and who should go. Maybe these aren’t the boldest of predictions, but this is the way I envision things could turn out.

1) Mets solve two needs with an Orioles trade

SNY’s Joe DeMayo pieced together a specific trade package with the Baltimore Orioles that would solve two needs. The Mets get Cedric Mullins and Gregory Soto in the deal, effectively changing their starting center fielder and adding a much-needed lefty reliever into the bullpen. Both players are on expiring contracts, therefore on the move in the coming days.

Mullins showed us what a pest he can be last week. Although he hasn’t done a whole lot of hitting this year with just a .218 batting average, his legs continue to cause mayhem on the bases. He is a nice cross between Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri with a slight downgrade defensively. Basically, he has the best qualities of both of them.

Capable of combusting, Soto is a nice midseason Band-Aid on a wound open for way too long. His 3.74 ERA is nothing spectacular. He has always had some command issues that come with good strikeout numbers.

This wouldn’t be a major blockbuster, but would end up as the biggest trade of all by the Mets at the deadline. They don’t seem well-positioned (or willing) to give up any of their greatest prospects at the moment. Maybe not glue guys, more like sticky-tack, Mullins and Soto would make the Mets better.