5 Mets trade deadline candidates we should already keep our eyes on

3) New York Mets trade deadline candidate, relief pitcher David Bednar

Another name that could be shipped out of the Steel City this summer is All-Star closer David Bednar.

We’ve seen teams getting rewarded for building strong and deep bullpens, and there are still questions about how the depth of the Mets’ bullpen, as currently constructed, can hold up in the playoffs. The Astros last year assembled the league’s best bullpen, and they were rewarded with a championship. The same thing happened with the Braves the year before.

So it would behoove the Mets to keep adding to their bullpen to strengthen the bridge to Edwin Diaz, especially for those late-season battles against the Braves and Phillies that may determine who wins the division.

He would also fit in with a certain Mets reliever, as Edwin Diaz lobbied to have Bednar to pitch the top of the ninth inning for the National League in the All-Star Game last year.

And Bednar would take the Mets’ relief corps to another level. Over his last two seasons, he has thrown 112.1 innings in relief, with a 2.40 ERA and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings an a 4.17 strikeout to walk ratio. A quintet of Bednar, Diaz, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson, and Brooks Raley would be quite formidable.