Enchanting NY Mets trade destination for Kodai Senga seems less viable

The buzz around a New York Mets trade involving Kodai Senga is on silent mode. There haven’t been too many vibrations as to where he could go. The Mets have been so tightlipped they could pass as a mob informant and not end up sleeping with the fishes.

The Mets still need to do something about their pitching staff with at least one subtraction and one addition needed. If for no other reason but to change things up, the Mets cannot go into next year with the same starting pitching group.

Senga is one of the league’s most complicated trade candidates. The Mets shouldn’t sell him low. They also don’t seem to have a lot of teams overly interested. An enchanting destination for Senga seems to have already come and gone. The Baltimore Orioles, with a roster full of young position players, have already brought in two starting pitcher additions. It doesn’t seem as if they’d add a third and have it be Senga.

The Orioles would have been one of the most fun matches for a Kodai Senga trade

Trading for Shane Baz and re-signing Zach Eflin have given Baltimore a much better rotation. They lack star power, but have the kind of depth any team would want. They could, in theory, still be in the mix to sign one of the top free agent starters. That doesn’t do the Mets any good when it comes to trading Senga.

Baltimore’s mostly young offense last season was in the bottom third of the league in several offensive categories. A few offseason moves they’ve already made, including the signing of Pete Alonso, have pushed regulars to the bench or even the minor leagues.

Multiple highly-regarded young players underachieved last year. Coby Mayo hit .217. Colton Cowser batted .196. Heston Kjerstad was at .192. What once felt like a young ball club on the cusp of winning a championship took a major step back. They won 75 games with a roster full of players who failed to live up to years of hype.

Any number of these young position players would have been fascinating trade candidates to join the Mets. If the Orioles were going to sell low on one of those younger players who could fit the Mets’ needs in the outfield, it would make a lot of sense for the return to be a player like Senga. It just doesn’t seem as if there is much room left for an addition like this.

One of the next places for the Mets to turn next could be the Arizona Diamondbacks who are known to have interest in acquiring MLB-level pitching. They have an outfield surplus. The main difference is their players most likely to get traded, other than Ketel Marte, seem to have peaked while the Orioles’ players have yet to reach their zenith.