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

Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is more than six months away, but that doesn’t mean the New York Mets and their fans should wait until the immediate lead-up to look at potential trade deadline targets.

The Mets certainly have some room for improvement on the roster looking ahead to the stretch run as well as beyond 2023. When roster needs and non-contending teams accounted for, the Mets have five legitimate trade candidates to watch through the first four months of the regular season.

1) New York Mets trade deadline candidate, pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels will not change ownership hands after Arte Moreno decided to flip-flop on his position on the ownership sale. This is where hope goes to die if you’re a fan of the Angels, and where intense scrutiny regarding the status of Shohei Ohtani goes to rise.

The Mets, along with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, headline a host of pursuers for Ohtani’s one-of-a-kind collection of talents.

There is no chance that Ohtani will sign a long-term contract with the Angels because of the lack of winning and organizational functionality associated with Moreno, and Steve Cohen has the money and the desire to bring Ohtani to New York for the long-haul.

But what about as a trade deadline candidate? If the Mets feel they can be the team to beat with Ohtani in August and September, and there would be valid arguments in that favor, of course the Mets can and should trade for him. The Angels, even with Ohtani and Mike Trout, are probably the third or fourth best team in the division, and Halos’ GM Perry Minasian will realize that making their farm system stronger is the way to go and letting Ohtani walk in free agency would be embarrassing for the franchise.

With the Mets likely to have multiple holes in their starting rotation for 2025 and beyond, Billy Eppler first signed Ohtani as an international free agent and now serving as Mets’ GM, and the rich Asian-American culture in downtown Flushing, Ohtani makes too much sense as a trade deadline candidate.

2) New York Mets trade deadline candidate, outfielder Andrew McCutchen

The Mets would have made a nice add for a fourth outfielder in five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, who signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week.

But how long into the 2023 campaign is McCutchen a Pirate? The Pirates may end up with the fewest wins of any team in baseball, and it would be wise for Pittsburgh to keep adding to one of the better farm systems in the sport if McCutchen is not in their long-term plans.

McCutchen’s clubhouse presence would be strong as well, as he once was a five-tool player that played the game the right way. Even though last season was his first with an OPS+ below 100, he could still help from the bench, and he has driven in 149 runs over his past two seasons with the Phillies and the Brewers.

But think about where McCutchen is in his career. His teams have only appeared in two Division Series and no League Championship Series in his 14-year career and more postseason experience is lacking in his career. A potential trade to the Mets would give him an opportunity to play with a World Series contender and help give the Mets reinforcements to their outfield if lack of depth in that area is exposed.

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.

4) New York Mets trade deadline candidate, relief pitcher Aaron Loup

Mets fans saw Aaron Loup put together one of the greatest seasons a Mets reliever ever had in 2021. He threw 56.2 innings and allowed just six earned runs that season, and it netted him a two-year contract with the Angels with a team option for 2024. Loup was the first free agent pitcher to sign a multi-year contract with the Angels since Joe Blanton signed a two-year pact before the 2013 season.

His numbers regressed much closer to the norm last year (3.84 ERA in 58.2 innings pitched), but he is still an above average reliever.

I wrote yesterday on the pros and cons of David Peterson as a reliable left-handed reliever, and the Mets may still have to acquire a second lefty reliever to combat some of the best left-handed hitters in the sport, who happen to reside with division rivals, like Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and Kyle Schwarber. Loup’s big success with the Mets came by recording key outs against the other team’s best lefty hitter in high-leverage situations.

The Mets only have four left-handed pitchers among their 21 hurlers on the 40-man roster as of now: Peterson, Brooks Raley, Jose Quintana, and Joey Lucchesi.

If Brooks Raley somehow doesn’t work, Loup is a good option to fill in, and Mets fans saw what he could do during his one-year stint in Flushing two years ago.