3 Mets news stories we hope to see this summer, 2 disastrous ones they can skip

NY Mets news story we hope to avoid: A trade deadline sell-off

A waving of the white flag midseason isn’t what any of us had intended for this year’s Mets squad. They haven’t sold at the trade deadline since 2018. Even then, were expectations all that high? Their offseason additions of Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, and Jason Vargas among other average or worse players didn’t seem to have the same kind of juice as the pieces the Mets have brought to the roster in the last two years.

Several other high-profile and big payroll teams have floundered. The San Diego Padres are climbing up a mountain. Let’s not forget about the Philadelphia Phillies either. What’s going on with the St. Louis Cardinals who, while they don’t have a massive payroll, do have the reigning MVP and third-place finisher on their field? This year’s trade deadline could see teams who didn’t plan to sell getting rid of some players we figured would ride out the year in their city.

No Mets fan wants to see a July where the only rumors we get involve where Eduardo Escobar could get traded to be a bench piece. A trade deadline sell-off means August and September have no meaning. The third wild card spot may help convince the Mets to avoid slowing down. They’ll need to avoid slipping too far behind to prevent this from happening.

The consequences of missing out on the playoffs should be huge. And if they’re not, we’ll have an offseason Mets news story we’d like to avoid.

“Mets retain Billy Eppler, extend Buck Showalter, and run it back with the same roster all over again” is problematic.