A covert NY Mets trade candidate the team should look to sell late in the offseason

The New York Mets received some good news on the injury front this week with Paul Blackburn. The trade deadline’s lone starting pitcher addition appears on track to be ready for Opening Day.

Aha! We know better than to assume he and everyone else will be ready to go for the start of the 2025 season. It is a tradition for a Mets starting pitcher to get hurt before the season begins. It could very well be one of the reasons why the Mets tendered Blackburn a contract. You can never have too much pitching.

With Blackburn seemingly available, it looks like the Mets have their starting five. Blackburn would fall in line alongside Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Frankie Montas, and Clay Holmes as long as he shows he can start. They probably wouldn’t have the room on the roster for a permanent fixture as a sixth starter. This means either the Mets could be done adding starting pitchers or maybe it’s time to reconsider exactly what Blackburn means to them.

The Mets should take advantage of the rich starting pitcher market and make Paul Blackburn a March trade candidate

Trading Blackburn this early in the offseason wouldn’t be the suggested move to make. There is too much uncertainty with the Holmes plan. They’re one torn Achilles in St. Lucie during a weightlifting session away from having to dip into their depth. The thought of Blackburn being a consideration for the bullpen doesn’t seem so satisfying. Exactly what role would he have? Mop up duty? Give that to someone they can option to the minors.

Blackburn isn’t a sensationally good pitcher. He had a 4.66 ERA last year in a career featuring a 4.85 ERA. He has only one year of an ERA+ over 100, his first which included just 10 starts.

Adding Blackburn at the trade deadline fit the mold of looking for bargains. An injury cut his time with the Mets short to just 5 starts. We saw the best and worst of what he could do with a few quality starts to begin his tenure and not so good performances to end it prematurely. It’s easy to forget he’s even around because the Mets still felt like an iffy playoff club by the time his season was over. Tendering him a contract made perfect sense in a free agent market where anyone who can throw a baseball from a mound is getting paid.

The Mets wouldn’t expect to get any sort of haul for Blackburn. Even at the trade deadline with more control it cost them only Kade Morris, a prospect ranking in the high-20s who had done well in the lower minor leagues prior to the deal. The Mets would be wise to hold out for something better than a lottery ticket in someone’s farm system.

Where the Mets can bully another team is if a serious contender loses a starting pitcher late in the spring. By then, there won’t be nearly as many realistic or good options. A club not yet ready to promote a young player for starting pitcher duties might be more apt to sell a major league reliever to the Mets. Perhaps an injury of their own to a position player could have the Mets scrambling for some sort of a solution. Blackburn would be a chip to sell.

For now, talk up how healthy he is, how good he can become, and how comfortable you are with him in the bullpen if needed. Add to the rotation further. This is a surplus you can figure out later.