5 reasons this Mets-Reds trade proposed by Sports Illustrated should never happen

The idea of the New York Mets trading a starting pitcher for some bullpen help continues to flourish. It’s one of the hottest Mets rumors going and Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated made his attempt to find a match.

His deal sends Luis Severino to the Cincinnati Reds for Lucas Sims and Buck Farmer. What’s so bad about this offer? These five demons on the shoulder suggest it’s not the right deal for either ball club.

1) The Mets should avoid trading with competition

The Reds are 3 games behind the Mets in the Wild Card standings and to do anything to help them out feels wrong. There are other teams, ones in the American League for instance, that could make more sense. The Mets and Reds probably wouldn’t face each other under any circumstance in the postseason as they’d be most likely to take the second and third Wild Card spots. Then again, the 2022 NLCS was between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres. Imagine Severino bumping the Mets out of the postseason with a gem.

2) The Mets should aim higher if they’re trading a starting pitcher

Farmer and Sims aren’t exactly the best relievers who could get dealt this summer. Farmer has a 2.70 ERA but a 4.22 FIP while Sims owns a 3.38 ERA and a FIP all the way up at 5.29. Walks have been an issue for Sims who has averaged 5.3 per 9. Serving up home runs at a rate of 1.7 per 9 as well, he smells like trouble. Both pitchers are free agents after the year is over so the Mets don’t even get added control. They might even need to pay a portion of Severino’s salary.

3) Are the Reds even in need of a starting pitcher?

The Reds might actually have a better starting rotation than the Mets right now. They have three starters with 14+ starts of ERAs between 3.33 and 3.39. Nick Martinez has pitched well for them and can shift full-time from the bullpen if needed. Their greater need, according to Blog Red Machine’s Drew Koch, is an outfielder.

4) What does the Mets rotation look like without Luis Severino?

Take away Severino and the Mets are locked into Christian Scott with an innings limit, David Peterson with a ridiculously high WHIP from the first half and a deceptively good ERA, plus Kodai Senga coming off of a season-long stint on the IL. Do we have a lot of faith in Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea to be as good as they have been in recent weeks? I’ll take my chances with Severino to avoid any possibility of having to lean on Tylor Megill for any period of time.

5) The Mets aren’t getting the kind of relief pitcher they’re missing

Neither pitcher in this trade is a lefty nor do they have minor league options. Add them to the Mets roster right now and it tightens things up. DFA’ing Adam Ottavino and/or Jake Diekman clears some room, but the Mets aren’t adding any space to bring in a true high-leverage reliever for innings. With a six-man rotation bound to occur upon Senga’s return, roster flexibility is a must. In the case of trading Severino, or any starter for that matter, the Mets need relievers who are improvements for whomever they replace. Statistically better than Ottavino and Diekman in many ways and even Adrian Houser whose job is far from safe, this feels like the Mets are making a trade for the sake of bringing a rumor to reality.