3 trades we should be glad the Mets didn't make

Jul 29, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto
Jul 29, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
2 of 3
Next

The New York Mets had a pretty uneventful and disappointing trade deadline. They acquired Mychal Givens for minor league pitcher Saul Gonzalez and traded J.D. Davis, Thomas Szapucki, along with pitching prospects Nick Zwack and Carson Seymour in exchange for Darin Ruf.

The Mets filled two needs by slotting Givens into the bullpen and Ruf as the DH against left handed pitching. They gave up virtually nothing for Givens, but the Ruf package was bigger. While it's a lot to give up, I don't think the trade is so bad given how much of an upgrade Ruf is against left handed pitching over what J.D. Davis had done. Szapucki is an intriguing prospect but was just turned into a reliever. The other prospects are far away from sniffing the major leagues.

Unfortunately, the Mets did not add a bat like Willson Contreras to upgrade the catcher position, but nobody else acquired him either. Unfortunately, the Mets didn't acquire a left handed reliever but none of those were traded either! The prices must have been astronomically high if nobody acquired anyone from those spots.

While I definitely wish the Mets added more, there are trades I'm very happy they did not do.

1) NY Mets potential acquisition: Juan Soto

I know, I know, Juan Soto is unbelievable. He absolutely changes the landscape of any franchise that would have been lucky enough to acquire him, and fortunately for fans of the San Diego Padres they got him. However, I don't think the Mets even had enough to get him. If they did, it would have cost them more than even I anticipated.

The Padres gave up three of their top four prospects, a pitcher in McKenzie Gore who was once a top 10 prospect, and C.J. Abrams who was also once a top 10 prospect.

The Mets equivalent to this deal starts with a package like Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Alex Ramirez, David Peterson, and Tylor Megill.

Taking into account the Mets would have to top that offer by a significant margin as they're division rivals does that mean adding guys like Jeff McNeil and Mark Vientos?

I would've done just about anything to get Juan Soto in Queens but the Mets would've been so decimated and honestly didn't even have what it took to get him ultimately.

Hopefully the Mets get a shot at Soto when he hits free agency.

2) NY Mets potential acquisition: Luis Castillo

Luis Castillo is a player I've been advocating the Mets to acquire for the longest time. He has electric stuff and is so fun to watch. He's also very durable, something this Mets rotation is not close to.

The Mets didn't have a huge need to acquire Castillo this season as their rotation already shapes up to be one of the best in baseball. However, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer have both missed substantial time this season. Adding another guy to anchor the rotation or best case scenario be a number three starter in a rotation would've been so awesome.

Can you imagine a postseason rotation that included deGrom, Scherzer, Castillo and Bassitt? Mets might've never lost.

The Mariners gave up so much for a position that wasn't a huge need. They traded three of their top five prospects including shortstop phenom Noelvi Marte who is ranked 17th on mlb.com's top 100 list.

Brett Baty is ranked 18th on that list. I probably wouldn't want to include him in that deal for a position that wasn't a necessity. But if the Mariners preferred Marte to Baty, they would've had to give up Francisco Alvarez which would be an easy no from me.

In a Baty deal other prospects of note like Mauricio and Vientos would've been traded as well. It's just too much. Love the player, hate the price. Castillo is a free agent after next season though, so maybe it's in the cards after all?

3) NY Mets potential acquisition: Brandon Drury

Brandon Drury is another player I really wanted the Mets to acquire. I felt he'd fill the right handed DH void well, and had some needed versatility that someone like Ruf doesn't provide.

Drury is enjoying a breakout campaign which has seen him hit 20 home runs and be the best hitter on the Reds.

The Padres made their second big trade of the day acquiring Drury in exchange for prospect Victor Acosta. Following the Soto trade, Acosta was the sixth-ranked prospect in the Padres system.

The Mets didn't give up anything remotely close to that value to acquire Ruf who's had more sustained success against lefties and is under team control for the next two seasons on very cheap money.

Drury was really fun to watch last year especially as a pinch hitter, and I think the Padres made another solid trade to bring him in, but it's more than the Mets would've had to give up for someone like Ruf who I could argue suits the Mets need better.

Drury in theory could also have played some third base for the Mets but Luis Guillorme deserves a chance to start a lot and Eduardo Escobar has hit well against southpaws and hopefully can turn it around when given the chance against righties.

Drury would've been a good fit, but I thought the Mets got Ruf for less value while Ruf has a more proven track record to succeed in the spot the Mets are putting him in. Drury was having a special year but a lot of that could also be due to playing half of his games in Cincinnatti.

Good trade for San Diego, good job by the Mets acquiring the player with more control and proven success for less.

dark. Next. Worst trades in Mets history

Next