Can the Mets match what the Athletics are asking from the White Sox for Frankie Montas?

The New York Mets aren’t the only team hoping to overcome an injury to a major starting pitcher. Lance Lynn of the Chicago White Sox went onto the IL which forced them to dive into their starting pitching depth early on. They’ve also lost Lucas Giolito as well, leaving them in a similar spot as the Mets.

Both teams began the year with high hopes of leaning on their starting pitching staff. So far, both clubs have gone through some major injuries.

The White Sox are reportedly looking to make a trade with the Oakland Athletics for their lone remaining piece on the block. Frankie Montas, whose two years of control left made him a less imminent player to deal, is the name being discussed. The hold-up in the deal is that the White Sox don’t want to part with outfielder Andrew Vaughn.

Can the Mets match what the Athletics want in a trade for Frankie Montas?

Well, yeah. They can. They can even do better. Of course, just because they can doesn’t mean they should.

The Mets are in a curious position right now with their starting pitching staff. They know Jacob deGrom is going to be out for a while. Taijuan Walker should also miss several weeks in a best-case scenario. This means a lot more Tylor Megill, some David Peterson starts, and a lot of prayers no one else gets hurt.

The desire for the Athletics to acquire Vaughn makes sense. As a young pre-arbitration player with some high upside, he’s someone the Athletics can have for several more years at a cheap price. They could even flip him in a future trade to eventually get younger once again.

On the Mets, there isn’t anyone who fits this bill. They do have some talented young players on the farm that could intrigue the Athletics. Outside of any of those names, New York will have a tough time dealing away the level of talent Vaughn could bring to Oakland.

The Mets may find themselves trading Brett Baty or Mark Vientos at some point simply because there isn’t enough room to play either. For Montas, however, it feels like a reactionary move and not such a wise one to make. Even if Baty or Vientos come up short on expectations, Montas is far from established enough to trade away one of those talented young prospects. The Mets do have a surplus at third base with the pair. But to trade one for a guy like Montas feels short-sighted.

Landing Montas at a similar asking price would probably mean the Mets go with quantity over quality. Would the Athletics take a package of multiple lesser prospects from New York to move Montas? Right now, they’d be foolish to do it simply to save money—the whole reason behind their continued fire sale.

The major league roster offers the Athletics nothing they could want for Montas. On the farm, the Mets would be trading away pieces better used on their big league club within a few years or in a trade for a better pitcher.

Right now, the advantage in any trade talks goes to Oakland. The shortened spring should have more starters going down with injuries.

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. Every time a starting pitcher feels his shoulder get sore, the A’s get a ring about Montas. Expect the price to remain the same.