The 5 best Mets trade candidates and where they could end up

In recent years, New York Mets fans have known whether the team would buy or sell around this time of the season. We’ve had a few curveballs thrown our way. The 2019 Mets were in a similar spot and ended up leaning more toward buying thanks to a hot streak after the All-Star Break. The 2020 Mets did something similar but mostly because Brodie Van Wagenen was trying to save his job and the trade deadline was so funky in a season none of us remember a thing about.

This year’s club has yet to declare themselves eligible for either direction and it might end up as a last-second decision. A sell-off feels far more likely and with this in mind, it’s time to face facts.

The Mets don’t have an abundance of high-quality trade pieces, but they do have some intriguing and useful ones. It’s these five who stand out as the best. Along with ranking them, there’s a destination for a team who should go all-in to land the player.

5) Best NY Mets trade candidate: Mark Canha

Mark Canha has not had a good year. Add in his $11.5 million salary, he’s a pricey part-time player. He’s still one of the five best trade pieces on the Mets roster. His .245/.345/.403 slash line at the break is actually not far off from the .248/.348/.424 he has hit for his career. Only home runs have been down and he’s actually at the same exact slugging percentage he finished with last season.

Canha will have suitors with the Mets likely responsible for at least a portion of his salary or even all of it if they’d like to increase the prospect haul they’d get in return. This seems to be the “most Steve Cohen” action the team could take.

The destination for him puts Canha on the Minnesota Twins. They’ve been first in the American League Central for much of 2023 but recently lost the spot to the Cleveland Guardians. The messiest division in baseball is up for grabs and as poorly as the Twins have played, they’re very much alive.

Canha would actually be one of the better hitters in the Minnesota lineup. Players with 200 or more plate appearances on their roster with a better batting average include Donovan Solano and no one else. Joey Gallo and Trevor Larnach have been their primary left fielders this season. They’ve been significantly worse than Canha who’d immediately become a candidate to hit in the middle of the order.