11 Mets starting pitcher trade candidates ranked from the bottom to the top

10) NY Mets trade target Kyle Freeland

Kyle Freeland isn’t a very exciting pitcher and if you want to move him down this list I can’t blame you. One of those arms on the Colorado Rockies we can question because of the ballpark he plays in, Freeland has been on a bit of a rollercoaster in his career with the last two seasons actually resulting in a 4.33 ERA campaign.

Back in 2018, Freeland was 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA for the Rockies. It was fantastic for a sophomore dealing with the elements. He was the fourth-place finisher in the Cy Young race.

Only a season later, Freeland went 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA in 22 starts. Did opposing teams figure him out? Did Coors Field decide to start being unkind? Were the juiced baseballs really that much of a factor? It’s probably a combination of all three.

The owner of a lifetime 4.20 ERA as a Rockies pitcher indicates Freeland may look a lot better with another organization. The Mets offer the pitcher-friendly confines of Citi Field to do this. At 28 with two years of control left and a left-handed arm that throws the ball, I can see why he could fit in with the Mets.

However, we then ask ourselves the big question: does he automatically make the Mets better right now?

I think he would be an improvement over Tylor Megill or David Peterson. But compared to so many other arms out there, he might not be worth it. Hand him to the Mets for free and it’s a no-brainer. The Rockies probably won’t be so nice.

9 and 8) NY Mets trade targets Adrian Houser/Eric Lauer

Let’s call this one a tie. The pair of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitchers who may or may not be on the trade block could be their key to finding some offensive help. The Brewers were a very pitching heavy team in 2021 without the bats to back it up. Trading away their number four or five starter for an upgrade to the starting lineup would be smart. Guys like J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil, and Dominic Smith could all find a regular role on their team.

Adrian Houser pitches next season at age 29. Last year was really his first full season as a starter, going 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 142.1 innings of work. There are three years of control left on him, making this righty an early buy for the Mets to consider having around for a few more years. One big concern might be that he didn’t post high strikeout totals last season (6.6 per nine) and walks were a problem (4 per nine). This can get dangerous very quickly.

Eric Lauer won’t turn 27 until the summer and he has a bigger resume to look at. But just like Houser, last year was his coming out party. He was 7-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 118.2 innings of work, mostly as a starter. A lefty, he averaged 8.9 strikeouts per nine which may not be dominant but it’s much better than what his teammate, Houser, was able to accomplish.

Lauer kind of reminds me of Joey Lucchesi in that he was once a young stud with the San Diego Padres, eventually traded away. If the Mets happen to have an interest in getting another arm like this, especially with so much uncertainty with Lucchesi’s health coming back from Tommy John Surgery who knows when, Lauer is an arm to inquire about.

7) NY Mets trade target Tyler Mahle

The first of three Cincinnati Reds pitchers to make this list, Tyler Mahle is the least high-profile of them. He has actually been around the league for parts of five seasons now. His performance in three, including the shortened 2020 campaign, was solid enough to catch my eye.

Mahle’s first full year of success came last season when he was 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA. He was tied for the league lead in games pitched with 33. Logging 180 innings and 210 strikeouts should put him on the radar of any team looking for a younger arm to add via trade.

We all know the Reds are open to trading a starting pitcher. Mahle, who turned 27 in September, has two years of control left. He should definitely be a guy the Mets look at as an option to replenish their rotation and possibly at a lesser cost than some other players out there. More on them shortly.

Mahle’s name hasn’t actually appeared in too many trade discussions with the Mets or any other team. It could be because compared to some of his teammates, the same juice isn’t there.

Only a phone call away to inquire about, I’d be curious to see how much the Mets would need to give up to land an arm like his. On the younger side, Mahle is a little bit of a lottery ticket but one that showed last year he can eat up innings.

6) NY Mets trade target Sonny Gray

Here’s the biggest concern with Sonny Gray: New York. He has pitched in the Big Apple before. The time he spent with the New York Yankees wasn’t so good. Could it be the pressures of the city or were there other elements at play when Gray limped through the 2018 season?

Outside of the 4.51 ERA performance he had in 195.2 innings with the Yankees, Gray had a 3.42 ERA in 705 Oakland Athletics innings to start his career and a 3.49 ERA performance in his last three seasons across 366.2 innings with the Cincinnati Reds. A pretty steady arm developing into more of a strikeout pitcher than he was earlier on in his career, Gray is someone Mets fans have debated ever since he rebounded with an All-Star season in 2019.

It makes sense why the Reds would be looking to move on from him. Owed $10.1 million this upcoming season with a team option in 2023, they have to ask themselves if 1) they’re willing to pay him and 2) if they are willing to pay him, are they able to go far enough to make themselves contenders? Gray is kind of a waste sitting around getting older on a team fated to go nowhere.

The great benefit of Gray is you kind of know exactly what you’re getting into. Plus, in any trade with the Reds for him, a big goal of the deal is to take on his salary. He may not cost a whole lot.

5) NY Mets trade target Chris Bassitt

The Athletics weren’t going to survive long without getting on this list. Although we’re more than halfway done, we get our first appearance at number five. It’s a guy who has flown under the radar for the last several seasons, Chris Bassitt.

The owner of a 3.47 ERA in 555.2 innings of big league baseball, Bassitt was an All-Star last year. In 27 starts, he went 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA. It was just his second season of starting consistently and a nice follow-up from the 5-2, 2.29 ERA performance he had in 11 starts back in 2020.

Bassitt might be the least known guy to finish in the top ten of the Cy Young in each of the last two years. A bit older than some other guys on this list and with just a single season of control, he’s an enticing one-year solution to consider. The Athletics are in full trade mode. Those ready to buy, like the Mets, should definitely look at him as someone to head into the season with. If things fail, they can readjust midyear at the trade deadline.

Compared to some of his teammates, the cost to acquire Bassitt probably won’t get too high. That single year of control hurts his value and could give the Mets enough reason to pursue.

4) NY Mets trade target John Means

A good lefty on a bad team, John Means is someone the Mets have been interested in previously. One of the few Baltimore Orioles trade candidates that could make sense to move this offseason with some real value, he can help fill the desire to add a left-handed starter and do it for a couple more years.

Means is only now reaching arbitration for next season which gives him three full years of control left. It’s a good thing to have especially when he has managed to find success pitching at Camden Yards and on a perpetually bad team.

Like a few others on this list, Means is at the stage of his career where he has yet to really piece anything extensive together. He was an All-Star in 2019, a year where he was 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA. Last year, at 6-9 with a 3.62 ERA, he showed us that maybe he can continue to improve.

The big trouble here: the Orioles have no urgency to trade him. The first year of arbitration eligibility shouldn’t push his salary too high for their frugal blood. Means is someone the Orioles would be wise to hold hostage until the right deal comes along. For them, that should come in the form of nothing other than prospects. So unless the Mets are willing to part with some of their better farmhands, Means may not call Citi Field home anytime soon.

3) NY Mets trade target Sean Manaea

Yet another member of the Oakland team, Sean Manaea now has parts of six years in the big leagues behind him and one final year before reaching free agency. Like Bassitt, this helps to make him a strong trade candidate and a guy where you don’t have to worry about committing to for very long.

Manaea has managed to do something pretty spectacular. Last year, he tossed two shutouts! While this doesn’t make a dent in the history of baseball, it’s pretty impressive considering the current state of baseball starting pitching. He made an American League-best 32 starts to go with it and struck out batters at a rate of 9.7 per nine.

What we should like about Manaea is how much of a nice fit he would be with what the Mets currently have. Although I don’t think he’s good enough to be their number three without question, he can certainly outpitch Carlos Carrasco or Taijuan Walker. He’s a guy to look at as a potential longer term option depending upon how he performs in 2022.

His final year of arbitration should make him one of the more expensive players on the Athletics roster. For this reason, he’s more likely to get dealt than the next guy on our list, a teammate of Manaea’s one year behind on reaching free agency.

2) NY Mets trade target Frankie Montas

Much less established than Manaea as a big league pitcher, we have our final member of the 2021 Athletics rotation. It’s righty Frankie Montas, last season’s sixth-place finisher in the Cy Young vote.

The 2021 season was a big one for Montas. After hopeful signs in 2018 and 2019 but without enough innings to land on the map, he had a rough year in 2020. This is all but forgotten after going 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 2021. Logging 187 innings and tying Manaea with a league leading 32 starts, he’s the type of innings eater the Mets should look at as someone to get them through a full season. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer aren’t young. They need firepower with age on their side.

With two years of control left, the Athletics might not be so inclined to trade Montas for anything less than an impressive haul. The Mets would do get the benefit of having him for two years, which has its own plus. They won’t have to go out seeking yet another arm next winter. Montas is someone they can comfortably have around for 2023 as well. Considering they don’t have any major starting pitching prospects coming up by at least mid-2023 if things get fast-tracked, the timeline works out well.

A trade for Montas might work best if the Mets are able to acquire someone else as well. Otherwise, I feel like the cost might end up being too much. The risk with any trade that brings you a single player in exchange for several is that he steps off the mound funny once and that’s the end of it. Nonetheless, it’s a phone call for the Mets to make.

1) NY Mets trade target Luis Castillo

You’re not surprised are you? Luis Castillo has been the buzziest name for the Mets and the trade market for starting pitchers. Traded four times already in his career (one more than Montas with three trades to his name), this winter is the prime time for the Reds to move him.

Castillo reaches free agency after the 2023 season so those two years of control are pretty important for Cincinnati to capitalize on. Another element to like about any trade with the Reds: they aren’t exactly rebuilding. This is an organization that would probably have at least some level of interest in the expendable big league trade candidates on the Mets roster. New York may be able to acquire him without doing any damage to their farm.

What helps Castillo stand out more than others on this list is his consistency at staying healthy. Since 2018, he has made 31-33 starts in each full big league season. In 2020, when there were only 60 games for each team, Castillo logged 12 starts. This was exactly what would be expected from the schedule and taking the mound every fifth day.

For this major reason, he’s number one on the list.

The Mets can take a chance on a veteran with a high salary or a younger kid possibly on the rise. Castillo seems to be right in the middle of both and with innings to back it up. Potentially about to step into his prime, a phone conversation between the Mets and Reds needs to happen as often as possible to get the deal done.