4 ways Billy Eppler can screw up the trade deadline in the last 36 hours

The New York Mets have had as eventful of a trade deadline as any team in the majors. David Robertson was first to go, and the big shocker was the Max Scherzer trade.

For those (including myself) who were expecting only players on one-year deals to go, you were horribly mistaken. It feels like virtually everyone who isn't on a long term deal or one of the best catchers in baseball at 21 years old can be had for the right price.

With so much up in the air, so much can go wrong. It feels like Mets rumors are circulating every hour. Billy Eppler has done well in his first two trades of this trade deadline, but there're many ways he can screw this all up.

1) Billy Eppler can screw up the NY Mets trade deadline by trading Justin Verlander for anything less than a monster haul

Scherzer is gone, and it feels very possible that Justin Verlander goes too. He's committed to the Mets potentially through the 2025 season as of now, but for the first time today, expressed publicly that he'd be willing to waive his no-trade clause if the Mets do decide to trade him.

To me, trading Verlander would be pretty much conceding not only 2023 which they've already conceded, but 2024 as well. The way the Mets are constructed, and with the upcoming free agency class, it's hard to see the Mets building up a rotation that's ready to compete next season if Verlander isn't apart of it.

If the Mets want to continue to tear down the current roster and focus on 2025 and beyond, that's fine with me. Verlander is not untoucable in my mind, but he is a guy who should bring back a monster haul and nothing less.

Verlander entered Sunday's start against the Nationals with a 1.46 ERA in his last six starts. He then proceeded to deliver five innings of one-run ball on Sunday afternoon to help the Mets win that series. After a slow start, it's abundantly clear that Verlander is back in Cy Young form and can help any team he'd go to win the World Series in 2023.

The contract is less than ideal, but the Mets have shown a willingness to eat money. They did it in the Scherzer deal, there's no doubt in my mind Steve Cohen would eat money to maximize the return in a Verlander deal.

Considering the fact that he's under team control at least through 2024 and if his option vests, through 2025, the price tag should be enormous. He's better than Scherzer by a wide margin and is more controllable. Scherzer netted a top-50 prospect in Luisangel Acuña, maybe Verlander can net two top-50 prospects or a top-20 prospect.

My point here is just because you've conceded 2023 do not sell low on Verlander. You can trade him, but only do it if you're overwhelmed. Just like you did with Scherzer.