Mets predicted to trade 3 prospects to the Guardians for Shane Bieber

Bleacher Report published a list predicting one trade for each MLB team this offseason. Teams were paired up so the list does include only 15 total deals to make sure there is indeed only one predicted trade for each ball club. The New York Mets matched up with the Cleveland Guardians. The predicted trade was one we would’ve thought much differently about a year ago.

This predicted Mets trade with the Guardians gives different feels after the 2023 season

Landing Shane Bieber would have been a huge and logical step for the Mets to take prior to this past season. He was coming off of another incredible year with the Guardians featuring a 13-8 record and 2.88 ERA while logging 200 innings. With two years of control left, he made a lot of sense.

Bieber wasn’t quite as spectacular this past year. In only 21 starts, the Guardians starter was 6-6 with a 3.80 ERA. Plenty of other statistics knock him further down the wish list. One of the more glaring was the 7.5 strikeouts per 9. It’s now his consecutive season falling below a K per inning but in 2022 he was just under at 8.9 per frame.

The prediction has us feeling hesitant beyond the inclusion of Bieber. Oddly, of the three Mets prospects, it’s Alex Ramirez we’re now down on most. He had a rough season in the minors and feels much more expendable than he once did. A new draft, a bunch of trade deadline additions, and being outperformed by his colleagues have dropped him down most prospect rankings. 

An odd twist comes in with the fact that Christian Scott and Tyler Stuart were names on few people’s radar this time last year. Now, after Scott won the team’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award and Stuart was just as qualified to do so himself, the Mets have a pair of pitching prospects on the rise in this mock trade the fans aren’t so willing to trade.

Bieber has become less appealing, in large part now because of his one remaining year of control. Ramirez looks far more expendable with Drew Gilbert in the organization and Jett Williams playing more outfield and doing so at a high level.

This trade works well before the 2023 season when Ramirez is a prized young outfield prospect and Scott and Stuart are pitchers we’re waiting to see have breakout seasons. Two years of Bieber, as well, make him a fit for the Mets. Not anymore. This is a team that needs to be sensitive about subtracting too much from the farm and acquiring the wrong short-term players in trades. This doesn’t meet either needs.

What the Mets should do instead

If these are players the Mets are willing to package together in a move, they need to get someone significantly better than Bieber and/or with more team control. Fans may be lower on Ramirez and higher on the pair of pitchers, but none are untouchable.