5 way too early Mets trade deadline predictions

The 2022 MLB trade deadline will take place on August 2. That’s just about a month away. In the upcoming weeks, the New York Mets will be active in trying to find whatever pieces they can to improve their roster.

Expected buyers who will be as aggressive as anyone, the club has some obvious needs but will they meet them all?

These are five early predictions for what we should expect out of Billy Eppler at this year’s trade deadline.

1) NY Mets trade deadline prediction: A deal for a starting pitcher with options

Starting pitching is like potato chips; you can never have enough. The Mets reached the bottom of the bag early on this season because of all of the injuries. Assuming Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are healthy for the rest of the season would be a mistake. Remove either of them from the equation for the playoffs and the team feels far less like a World Series contender and more like one of those clubs we forget in a few years ever made the postseason.

The Mets haven’t gotten quite enough out of their other starters this season. Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco have fallen on some hard times. Taijuan Walker has a whole second half where he’ll need to prove sustainability.

There is an obvious desire to bolster the starting rotation further but with a caveat—it should be for a guy with minor league options. The same way the Mets acquired Trevor Williams last year and sent him straight to Triple-A should be a plan for them even if the pitcher they do acquire is of great talent than Williams. Having that kind of roster flexibility is important. The Mets don’t have a whole lot of players with minor league options so unless they plan to DFA a couple of guys, having the wiggle room to send someone to the minors, even temporarily, is important.

Someone like Tyler Mahle, who has been good in the past, might be a player to target. If some of the starters continue to struggle on the mound or injuries, Luis Castillo would be preferred.