5 Mets players the Yankees could target in a trade to save their season

Despite their three-game winning streak, the New York Mets have nothing more than a puncher's chance at a postseason spot. They're already out of the division race, and with the amount of ground they have to make in a Wild Card hunt they'd have to play nearly perfect baseball for the remainder of the regular season. Can they do it? Maybe. Is it likely? Absolutely not.

With the Mets likely going nowhere in 2023, the vision to sell couldn't be clearer. The unfortunate situation is the Mets don't have many pieces to sell outside of a select few. Fortunately, these pieces can all help the other New York team. The Yankees just got swept by the Angels and have lost nine of their last 11 overall. This skid has them at 50-47 on the season.

The Yankees are on the brink of falling out of the AL Wild Card race. They're 3.5 games back of that final Wild Card spot and with the way they're playing, things could get rather ugly. With that in mind, they need help. The Mets can be that team to help fill these needs which are rather glaring.

1) NY Mets player the NY Yankees should target to save their season: Tommy Pham

The Yankees lineup has been an absolute disaster, especially without Aaron Judge. Adding a player like Tommy Pham would provide a big boost to their lineup.

Pham has had a surprisingly outstanding year with the Mets. He began the year in a part-time role and struggled, but while virtually everyone else on the team was struggling, Pham had an awesome June and that has carried over into July.

Overall, he's slashing .274/.359/.479 with nine home runs and 35 RBI. He's hit 15 doubles and has even stolen 11 bases in 12 tries. Nobody on this Yankees team outside of Aaron Judge who has played in more than five games has an OPS over .782. Jake Bauers is second on their team in that statistic and even he's hurt.

Right now the Yankees are running Isiah Kiner-Falefa out in left field just about every day. IKF has a .678 OPS. Pham isn't a superstar, but he's a whole lot better than what they've got. He can get on base while also providing some power and clutch hitting. Even at their best left field is a weak spot for the Yankees. Pham makes too much sense.

3) NY Mets player the NY Yankees should target to save their season: Brooks Raley

You can never have too many relievers. I'm not suggesting the Yankees make deals to acquire both Robertson and Brooks Raley, but the southpaw could be an even more intriguing arm for the Yankees to look into acquiring.

Raley was acquired by the Mets this offseason to be their primary left-handed reliever and he's lived up to the hype he came here with. Raley was coming off of a career year with Tampa Bay. Usually those relievers stumble after leaving the Rays, but like Aaron Loup in the past, Raley has been just as good, if not better.

In 41 appearances, he has a 2.14 ERA on the season. He's a guy Aaron Boone would feel comfortable throwing in just about any situation against any hitter. He's that good. The best part about Raley is he has an additional year of control. That additional year could make him unavailable at the deadline, but if he's available, he'd give the Yankees a much-needed boost.

The Yankees are currently without Loaisiga and will be without Scott Effross and Lou Trivino for the remainder of the season. Their bullpen seems to always have some injury issues so adding some depth isn't the worst idea in the world.

4) NY Mets player the NY Yankees should target to save their season: Mark Canha

Mark Canha isn't exactly a savior, but he's a quality baseball player who makes this Yankees team a whole lot better.

Canha lost his starting job to Pham, but that had more to do with Pham's hot streak than Canha doing anything to lose it. He's slashing .244/.346/.396 with six home runs and 28 RBI. His 111 WRC+ would be fourth on the Yankees right now for players who have more than 20 plate appearances, and a recent Gleyber Torres hot streak pushed him down to fourth. He trails just Judge, Jake Bauers, and Torres.

Canha being fourth in WRC+ is an indictment on how just how bad this Yankees offense is, but it also shows that he can help them. He'd cost next to nothing in a trade, and has shown he can hit in New York.

The Yankees can hit him just about anywhere in the lineup and watch him be fine. He can get on base in front of their big boppers, or he can hit seventh or eighth and try to drive runs in that way.

He's shown some added versatility which could help the Yankees with all of their injuries. He's a primary left fielder but has played 12 games at first base, seven in right field, and even four at third base. Canha isn't a star, but he's certainly better than the likes of IKF and Oswaldo Cabrera.

5) NY Mets player the NY Yankees should target to save their season: Omar Narvaez

It hasn't been the year Omar Narvaez imagined after inking a one-year deal with the Mets this past offseason. Narvaez expected to at the very least share the starting role with Tomas Nido, but his injury led to the early-season promotion of Francisco Alvarez. 19 home runs later and Alvarez is entrenched behind the plate not only for this season, but for years to come in Queens.

Alvarez's rise to stardom has forced Narvaez into a bench role. He's been limited to just 18 games and hasn't done much of anything, slashing .175/.271/.175 with no home runs and three RBI. Narvaez does not have an extra-base hit yet as a Met.

With Alvarez being so young and the Mets being so desperate for wins, they've essentially trapped Narvaez onto the bench. He's played in two games the entire month of July. The month is more than halfway done.

The Yankees would be interested because their catching situation is dire. Jose Trevino, while a terrific defender, has a .569 OPS. Unless the rest of your lineup is stacked, you really can't afford to have zero offensive production at any position. The Mets learned that last year with their Nido and James McCann duo.

While Narvaez didn't hit last year, he was an all-star in 2021 with Milwaukee and has really improved with his pitch framing. That's why the Mets wanted him. They wouldn't lose much defensively while they'd add a left-handed hitter who has hit as many as 22 home runs in a season.

Narvaez does have a player option for the 2024 season which he will almost surely pick up, but the Mets haven't been shy to eat money to get a better return. The Yankees will surely look for a better catcher than Narvaez, but if they're unable to find it, he becomes a very realistic target.