5 Mets players who may not be on the roster by the end of the 2023 season

2) Mets starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco

This one hurts. Carrasco has been a phenomenal player and teammate throughout his career. A starting pitcher with a good career, especially in his best seasons in Cleveland, and an example to follow after battling and overcoming cancer.

Despite being somewhat overshadowed in the trade that came to the Mets along with the headline of that trade, Francisco Lindor, expectations of having a pitcher of his caliber in the Mets were high. Yet his short career in Queens has been plagued by injuries and poor performance on the mound.

Carrasco was never asked to be an ace on the Mets. Especially now that he is projected to be the fourth or fifth starting pitcher in the rotation, the demand is not as high, but the team needs to see good health and good performance from Carlos if they want to compete.

Even if Carrasco comes healthy and pitches a good midseason, trading him at the deadline wouldn't be a bad idea. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season and the team has enough depth from different options in the big leagues and the minors to cover the position.

Given his unreliable health, the Mets could trade him for some bullpen help or a low-level prospect with potential. Sort of like trading Jason Vargas to the Phillies in 2019, except that the prospect should be a better one for a pitcher like Carrasco than what the Mets got for Vargas.

If they didn't have the necessary depth, this scenario might never come up, but given the current state of the Mets, Carrasco could be out of the organization by early August. In that case, the Mets can add Megill, Peterson, or whatever starting pitcher they obtain via a trade at the deadline to bolster their playoff rotation.