A Mets-Rockies trade to find a Jake Diekman upgrade

The Colorado Rockies are in town and with them comes the second-worst record in the National League. The New York Mets will face the worst team after the All-Star Break when they play the Miami Marlins. Thank you schedule makers for getting these games in before the trade deadline.

Yet again on Friday we saw the ineffectiveness of Jake Diekman. Failing to get through his inning, this time not courtesy of an abundance of walks, the team has to look high and low for alternatives. They should already be prepared to cut bait with Diekman entirely if for no other reason than to prevent him from reaching the point where his contract for next year vests. A member of the Rockies bullpen might be able to help.

Jalen Beeks was actually a teammate of Diekman last year as members of the Tampa Bay Rays. Beeks wasn’t terrific in his final year there nor has he been for the Rockies this season. Pitchers can get the benefit of the doubt statistically to some extent when they suit up for Colorado. In either case, Beeks appears to be an affordable trade option for the Mets and his success against lefties should very much have the Mets circling him as an option in the next two weeks.

What would it cost the Mets to acquire Jalen Beeks?

If going after Beeks, the Mets do need to seek out an even better lefty reliever. Going to battle with just one or a combination of Beeks and Diekman doesn’t work. Beeks’ 4.40 ERA on the year shouldn’t have him costing a whole lot. He has been much better in non-save situations, holding batters to a .195/.253/.264 batting line versus .305/.383/.439 in save opportunities.

Lefties have hit him poorly. Just a .146/.255/.208 slash line with 14 strikeouts in 56 plate appearances highlights his success against them. Beeks doesn’t get the benefit of a favorable matchup when he has been the closer for the Rockies. While witnessing how the Mets use Diekman in as much of a traditional left-handed specialist way as they can, they might end up getting far more out of Beeks.

Earning less than $2 million this year and on an expiring deal, Beeks is a pure rental and someone the Mets could DFA if things went haywire. Does this trade get it done?

Assuming the Rockies would like to build up their farm system with arms since they tend to be the toughest to find, the Mets can offer a pair of A-Ball players not considered top prospects.

The first is Joander Suarez. Ranked as the 28th prospect for the Mets according to MLB Pipeline, he’s a 24-year-old righty in Double-A with a 4.71 ERA. He has averaged a strikeout per inning and less than 3 walks per 9. While at times a pitcher with some promise, he hasn’t yielded the kind of results where the Mets need to hold onto him too carefully. He remains a work in progress.

The other is a non-top 30 prospect, pitcher Douglas Orellana. Currently on the IL for the Brooklyn Cyclones, he has pitched to a 1.86 ERA for them in 38.2 innings of work as a starter and reliever. His fantastic 11.4 strikeouts per 9 is sure to catch the eye of teams looking to make a deal with the Mets. Still a bit wild at 4.2 walks per 9, it has improved from the 5.5 per 9 in his professional career.

Is this enough for the Mets to acquire a mostly mediocre reliever from the Rockies?

Last year the New York Yankees traded one prospect, Juan Carela, for Keynan Middleton. With better minor league numbers than Suarez, the addition of Orellana can help give this trade a little nudge.