3 Mets trade candidates who would fetch a disappointing return

Last year’s trade deadline rewarded the New York Mets with a fresh-looking farm system. Will this year’s likely sell-off yield the same results? Sadly, many of the trade candidates the Mets have might fetch a disappointing return.

The Mets only came away positively from last year’s trade deadline because they were willing to eat a ridiculous amount of money on multiple contracts. Many of the lesser deals they made either haven’t worked out so well or were for very low-level prospects who’ll need to prove themselves for a few more seasons before we can declare the Mets winners.

It’s definitely not going to end up like the 2017 trade deadline when the Mets reaped no rewards. However, these three obvious trade candidates on the roster probably won’t bring back the quality of players we wish they could.

3) Jose Quintana

A left-handed starting pitcher will always be in demand at the trade deadline. As valuable as that descriptor may be, Jose Quintana is hardly making a case to be a solution for a starting pitcher-needy ball club.

Quintana has been victimized by the home run all plenty this year. After three outings that were either rated as quality starts or near it, his dud against the Arizona Diamondbacks brought back a reminder of what a limited pitcher he is.

At 1-5 with a 5.17 ERA, Quintana’s value on the trade market is plummeting near to what Carlos Carrasco’s was last summer. Carrasco was a guy the Mets couldn’t move. Could the same thing happen with Quintana?

Too many consistent short outings in recent years already had him looking like a less dazzling trade deadline product. This season, with strikeouts down to 6.2 per 9 and a rising walk rate paired alongside all of the home runs will have teams contemplating whether they’re better off pushing a prospect up to the majors rather than giving up much at all for Quintana.