3 Mets trades we’re happiest the team avoided at the deadline

The Mets dodged a bullet for an underperforming starting pitcher.

The Mets were in the market for starting pitchers after Kodai Senga was injured in his first start back in MLB. The market had some relevant options and mid-starters that were discussed by practically all the teams in the competition.

The Cincinnati Reds were inclined to trade Frankie Montas since the countdown to the trade deadline began, a pitcher who was on a one-season, $16 million contract with a $20 million mutual option for 2025 tied to a buyout of $2 million. Considerable value for a starting pitcher who posted an underwhelming 5.01 ERA with the Reds and a worrying 42% hard-hit contact allowed.

The return that the Reds achieved was not enormous but it was high for the performance shown by Montas, who in a race for a push toward the playoffs does not appear to be a reliable pitcher or with the caliber to remain in a rotation of a contending team. OF Joey Wiemer, RHP Jakob Junis, and cash made up the package the Milwaukee Brewers offered for Montas.

The centerpiece of this trade is Joey Wiemer, an important prospect for the Brewers, who became the top 90 prospects in the top 100 of the MLB Pipeline with high power, speed, and arm capacity but who has not managed to put up good numbers in MLB. The fact of obtaining an inefficient pitcher with the level of salary earned by Montas, plus losing a figure with a top prospect pedigree like Wiemer, makes the change make no sense for a contending team.