Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 ways Billy Eppler can redeem himself at the trade deadline

2) NY Mets GM Billy Eppler can redeem himself by pulling off a “Pete Crow-Armstrong for Javier Baez” style trade

This is where the real gold is. The infamous Mets trade that took place when Eppler was just a twinkle in Cohen’s eye has aged terribly for the Amazins. Executed in the summer of 2021, the team swapped Pete Crow-Armstrong for two months of Javier Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams. It was a strange trade we don’t normally see at the deadline. It had a chance to work out fine until the Mets collapsed down the stretch in 2021 and are now left with nothing at all to show for it.

Eppler wasn’t responsible for this trade, however, he can help his case by making one of his own and being on the winning side of it.

The trouble here is finding a Mets player worthy of being the Baez in the deal. None of our pending free agents are quite at the level he was for the Chicago Cubs prior to the move. It might take the Mets three players to get this done.

A package of David Robertson, Tommy Pham, and one more player might be intriguing enough for the right team to sell off one very good prospect instead of several so-so ones. If a ball club can address multiple needs with one move, it’s something to consider.

The dream type of trade to make would be to send Robertson, Pham, and any of the other Mets trade candidates to the Texas Rangers for someone like Jack Leiter and even eat a good chunk of the salary. The combination of Robertson and Pham could work with a variety of teams. I’d ask Eppler to start there and see what else a club wants. The Mets should willingly get a little more bruised now to help their future.