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.

4) Best NY Mets trade candidate: Max Scherzer

Maybe MLB’s biggest “will they or won’t they” trade piece this summer, Max Scherzer has to be somewhere on this list even if the front office insists he’s not going anywhere and the chances of it are so slim. Nonetheless, the speculation is real and underwhelming as he has been, Scherzer can help out a lot of ball clubs.

Now 8-3 with a 4.31 ERA on the season, Scherzer has the kind of numbers you’d expect from a number four or five starter on an average team. Mad Max hasn’t finished a season with an ERA over 4.00 since 2011. In fact, if we exclude the 2020 season, he hasn’t even been over 3.00 since 2014.

Trading Scherzer will have its roadblocks due to his salary and the player option for next year. The Mets would have to absorb some of the money. Because of this, they’re probably actually better keeping him than getting a minimal return.

Only a small number of teams “can afford” to add Scherzer to their payroll. Although the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately come to mind, their NL West rival Arizona Diamondbacks are the team that should go all-in to get him.

Arizona is right there among the best in the league. They’re doing it without a complete rotation. Behind Zac Gallen and currently injured Merrill Kelly, there isn’t a whole lot in the rotation. The bullpen has been fantastic and the offense can hold their own.

Scherzer was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks and a reunion with them could push them ahead. It’s really only a matter of the front office having willingness to take on a part of his massive salary and accept what he could bring to the table next year. They’re already paying Madison Bumgarner to disappear. Could they be willing to do the same for Scherzer if things go south?

2) Best NY Mets trade candidate: Tommy Pham

Who’d ever think that Tommy Pham would be such a great trade candidate? He’s one of the best in baseball. The injury that led to an early exit on Sunday is something to pay attention to but it’s not as if injured players never get moved. The New York Yankees acquired Harrison Bader last summer while he was on the IL.

Pham brings a lot of wonderful intangibles to the field. He’s gutsy, hits for some good power, and this year is playing like it means the end of his career. That may have actually been the case. He settled on a one-year deal with the Mets to become their fourth outfielder/right-handed DH. He has played his way into the starting lineup on a daily basis.

The Twins could target Pham instead of Canha. However, the club who should go after Pham a little harder is their biggest competition, the Cleveland Guardians.

Offense is something the Guardians don’t have much of. Power is especially limited. Only Josh Naylor (11) and Jose Ramirez (14) are at double digit home runs. Their three main outfielders have combined for only 7 home runs with center fielder Myles Straw giving them a goose egg.

Pham is a reasonably-priced asset the Guardians need. Capable of playing all three outfield positions and someone who can hit at the top or in the middle of the order, he meets many of their needs.

1) Best NY Mets trade candidate: David Robertson

There’s no place like home. There’s no such thing as too much bullpen help. Mets closer David Robertson is the club’s best trade candidate. He meets all of the criteria. He’s a rental making modest enough money and having a good year. Robertson’s experience as a closer and setup man make him especially valuable. Teams looking for either should consider him.

Robertson has been healthy this year and for the second straight year, he should swap uniforms mid-season. Last year it was going from the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies. Where could the Mets end up trading their Edwin Diaz replacement?

Considering a team is dead if they don’t have a closer, we should look at the clubs in most need of adding one among the serious contenders. While their ninth inning situation isn’t the worst with Will Smith taking over, it’s the Texas Rangers who mustn’t blow their year because of unreliable pitching in the ninth.

The Rangers are stacked offensively and have arguably the deepest rotation in baseball. There isn’t much they need to seek out at the trade deadline other than to add some finishing touches. Having already added Aroldis Chapman, they should be a team that goes out and makes a trade for Robertson.

As excellent as Robertson can be against lefties, he’s good against right-handed hitters, too. The Rangers already have enough southpaws in the bullpen between Smith, Chapman, and Brock Burke. A righty is a must.

If all the Rangers did at the trade deadline was acquire closers from other teams and roll the dice to see how things worked, they’d be in tip-top shape.