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5 Mets players David Stearns would have traded if the team was punting in 2024
Their continued presence on the Mets roster suggests the team is at least trying to win.
The word “punt” has been in the vernacular of New York Mets fans plenty this offseason. First brought to us by Max Scherzer, the notion of the Mets attempting to play out the 2024 season without the goal of winning came to the forefront of conversation.
The ball club has certainly taken a step back in terms of the talent they’ve added this winter. They didn’t enter this shootout guns-a-blazin’. They’ve moved more stealthily while trying to get better without actually having much of an effect at all on what the roster will look like in 2025.
If the Mets actually were punting, they would have traded any of these five players already.
1) Pete Alonso
Allow enough baseball chatter into your life and you’re bound to read or hear someone suggest the Mets could still trade Pete Alonso. Not a chance. There is no way they sell us a roster without Pete Alonso in addition to not signing a legitimate DH. Unless David Stearns is the most super villain to ever step foot in the front office, Alonso is going to be there on Opening Day. Otherwise Stearns will have more than egg on his face for saying he expects Alonso will be the team’s Opening Day first baseman. He’ll have a couple of lemon meringue pies tossed at him in St. Lucie, too.
Despite the chitter chatter, Alonso is staying put. It’s the ultimate sign of the Mets hoping to at least try to compete in 2024. Without him, the lineup is beyond punting. It’s handing off the ball to a defensive lineman.
There is no scenario where trading Alonso now could possibly make sense for the Mets. They’re committed to their players under contract through 2024. Fortunately, this includes the big guy hitting fourth.
2) Brooks Raley
The Mets could have masterfully turned Brooks Raley into a decent trade chip. Coming off of a successful 2023 season, the affordable lefty reliever had an option for the 2024 season they were wise to pick up. However, in the early stages of the offseason, there was some thought the purpose was to simply swap him for some minor league talent.
We’ve made it this far. We’ve seen the Mets operate and make other moves around keeping Raley to indicate this just won’t happen. When you have a high-priced closer, you don’t ask fringe MLB players to work the innings before him. You hold onto Raley and see where it gets you.
Raley is one of the better trade chips the Mets could potentially have at the deadline this summer if things fall apart. Sometimes forgotten because we only had one year of him, he’s a sure bet to get dealt if the worst of the Mets show up in the regular season.
Because the Mets just aren’t punting, Raley is staying in blue and orange.
3) Jose Quintana
Jose Quintana was a much-discussed trade candidate as early as last year’s trade deadline. Rumors and simple speculation suggested he’d be one of the more likely Mets players traded in the offseason. It made sense at the time with the Mets allegedly being open to trading anyone not under contract beyond 2023. Instead of trading those players, the Mets added to the pile of pending free agents.
At $13 million and coming off of a pretty good year albeit cut in half due to an injury sustained in spring training, Quintana would have had decent value in a trade. He must be more reliable than the slew of free agents who signed for around the same or slightly more this winter. And for those teams who missed out on completing the middle of their rotation, Quintana could have been a good buy.
For a million different reasons, the Mets didn’t swap Quintana for some youth. Trading him would have been the ultimate hint as to what their offseason plans were. The moment they signed Luis Severino, it helped assure us they were going to at least attempt to win. At least to start the season, Quintana will be there for the ride.
4) Drew Smith
Drew Smith may deserve an asterisk for his spot on this list. In the right deal, perhaps the Mets could still trade him. The only rumors we received this offseason about a potential Smith deal came near the non-tender deadline when the team attempted to deal him before having to offer him a contract. Nothing came of it. Smith remains in the Mets bullpen. Fans question which version will show up next season.
Trading Smith only makes sense now if the Mets replace him with someone better. He’s not making a lot of money. As a mid-bullpen arm, he’s not half bad. Swapping him for a righty with minor league options or a left-handed pitcher is one option for the Mets. With zero indication of them willing to do so, we can probably project Smith to be on the club’s Opening Day roster.
If Stearns did suddenly trade Smith, it doesn’t mean they’re punting. With the way this offseason has shaken out, we’d have to assume it’s to clear a spot for someone else. Plenty of fans would patiently wait for that corresponding move.
5) Joey Lucchesi
Joey Lucchesi is a forgotten trade candidate on the Mets roster. Maybe it’s because he is expected to start the season in the minors that has him getting overlooked. After a productive year with the Mets bouncing between the majors and minors in 2023, he is no closer to securing a rotation spot in the big leagues. Lucchesi is under team control through 2025, but with only a single minor league option remaining, far more likely to end up somewhere else.
The appeal of Lucchesi is the ability to send him up and down from the minors. He’s insurance for the Mets. It’s insurance they need even more so with David Peterson beginning the year on the IL. Their starting pitching depth behind the projected five will include those two plus Tylor Megill and Jose Butto. Based on how the Mets managed their rotation last year in part because of Kodai Senga, we should expect regular outings from this group, Lucchesi included.
Lucchesi wouldn’t have added a huge return to the Mets, but as an intriguing arm not costing a whole lot, someone with a bit more patience might have given up a little something.
Interestingly, keeping Lucchesi could have also been a sign of punting. If they had simply locked him into a rotation spot, it would have definitely felt like the special teams unit had stepped onto the field.
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