Outrageous NY Mets-Nationals trade idea has David Stearns putting his job on the line

MacKenzie Gore’s name has come up as a potential trade candidate and while the Washington Nationals starter isn’t a lock to get dealt, it hasn’t stopped fans from putting together fictitious trade packages. It’s July after all. If you haven’t scribbled down some mock New York Mets trades yet, what are you doing with your life?

Over at Bleacher Report, Zachary Rymer pieced together several packages involving Gore. Some include other Nationals players changing uniforms. For the Mets, they pick up Kyle Finnegan in addition to Gore.

The cost is outrageous and would surely get David Stearns fired before it gets him a statue.

This is the kind of franchise-altering trade the Mets would be foolish to make

Even if Finnegan is eliminated from the equation, that’s a large haul of prospects to give up for a young pitcher reaching his peak in year number four in the big leagues. Gore doesn’t even have a ton of control. He’s a free agent after 2027. So for two and a half years, the Mets have a rising player in their rotation. They’ve lost two big-time position players and pitching prospects in the process. Oh, and Finnegan is gone after 2025.

Gore would certainly come at a high cost and it’s not ridiculous to believe the Mets would need to surrender at least two of these players in order to get him. Your personal preference would determine if even that’s worth doing a deal. It doesn’t matter much whether the Nationals are in the NL East (which they are) or another division where you see them for three games a year. That’s way too much to give up for an unestablished player.

As Rymer notes, it doesn’t work for the Mets because of the risk associated. Maybe more so, as he also points out, they have a greater need in the lineup. An added starting pitcher feels like more of a luxury than an actual need at the moment. A mid-level or slightly worse arm seems to be the more realistic choice. Based on the way Stearns has operated, he’d laugh at this mock trade and go on the hunt for a rental or maybe someone who just needs to change their arm slot to improve things.

Most prospects don’t amount to much. This foursome given up for Gore could journey around the majors while flipping back and forth from Triple-A for the next decade. No one knows. Arms blow out. Back injuries become chronic. Life happens.

It wouldn’t hurt the Mets to be a little more irresponsible at this year’s trade deadline. That doesn’t include trading your four best prospects, each of whom looks like they could be contributors as soon as next season. All four could be considered untouchable this summer and beyond.

More recent reports have said the Nationals aren’t about to tear apart the roster of its young core players. As a result, an all-in sort of trade like this seems even more likely to sit on the backburner.