Repeated NY Mets rumors from last year already look like they could return

MLB rumors season doesn’t begin to take its full shape until around June when teams have a clearer idea of who they are or aren’t. It took the New York Mets quite a while last season to discover their true selves. Before, during, and leading up to the trade deadline, there were Mets rumors involving the possibility of the team subtracting from its starting rotation in order to improve the bullpen.

Remember when the Mets were going to trade Sean Manaea to the Cleveland Guardians for two bullpen arms? A trade proposal by Jim Duquette that aged so tragically Shakespeare wrote a play about it, we’re bound to see similar trade proposals in the coming weeks and months.

Cue Bleacher Report’s list of surprise trade candidates that already has the Mets dealing from their starting pitching depth. Notably, the focus seems to be on the idea of sending free agent steal Griffin Canning elsewhere. In exchange for what, exactly?

It’s way too early to start thinking about trading Mets starting pitchers

The pretense of the Mets having more starting pitchers than slots on the roster doesn’t make the idea of dealing away starters any more palatable. What would’ve happened if they traded Manaea, Luis Severino, or Jose Quintana last year? Rather than deal from what was viewed as a surplus, they added at the trade deadline with an underwhelming acquisition of Paul Blackburn. Kodai Senga’s return from the IL lasted a single appearance, paving the way for Tylor Megill to return back to the majors and in a significant role for the final stretch run of the year.

Things happen. Pitchers get hurt. Unless you have no other choice but to trade someone away, you don’t do it.

The Mets will face some decisions in the first half. Blackburn’s IL return is easy. Put him in the bullpen and see if he offers any value. Don’t be afraid to cut him if needed. It gets more complicated with Manaea and Frankie Montas. The latter, who might not excite the majority of fans, is going to get his opportunities to start. A stricter rotation of six starters isn’t too difficult to figure out. One of the high performing Mets starting pitchers is going to falter. Another is going to end up on the IL.

The Mets have minor league options available on Megill, Peterson, and Senga and the likelihood of any getting sent down probably fall in that same order. The easiest solution, in an unlikely world where everyone is healthy, involves one of these starters being utilized as a reliever. We’ve already seen this team depend on Huascar Brazoban and Max Kranick for multiple innings at a time. They shouldn’t be opposed to doing the same with someone else.

A time will come when the Mets need to make some big decisions with the starting rotation. Remaining sensible is the best thing Stearns can do, just as he did last year when there were Mets rumors galore involving a starting pitcher getting dealt.