3 Orioles players the Mets should demand in a Justin Verlander trade

If the Mets were to trade Justin Verlander, the Orioles have a lot to offer
Washington Nationals v New York Mets
Washington Nationals v New York Mets / Rich Schultz/GettyImages
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2) NY Mets Justin Verlander trade target: Colton Cowser

The Orioles top prospect just so happens to be the top prospect in all of baseball, Jackson Holliday. As awesome as it'd be for the Mets to land Holliday, it's highly unlikely. Their second-best prospect is Colton Cowser, and that wouldn't be a bad consolation prize.

Cowser is a 23-year-old outfielder who's ranked as the 12th best prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. He was picked fifth overall by the Orioles in the 2021 MLB Draft and earned his first call-up to the majors in early July.

Since being promoted, Cowser hasn't done much. He has just five hits in 47 at-bats. He has just a .399 OPS and an 18 OPS+. As discouraging as that looks, I wouldn't put too much stock into a 47 at-bat sample.

Cowser is viewed as a player who can do just about anything. He can hit, has power, can play good defense in the outfield, and can run. This season he had a .996 OPS in AAA with ten home runs and seven stolen bases in 56 games.

Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte are both locked in for the next couple of years but left field is wide open for a guy like Cowser to potentially step in and cover. The Orioles have the outfield depth necessary to be fine moving him, and the Mets have the opening to play him.