3 former Braves players the Mets should trade for to help catch Atlanta

These three former Braves could help the Mets catch Atlanta for the top Wild Card spot.

Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves - Game One
Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves - Game One | Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/GettyImages
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No team should ever specifically target ex-players from a particular team in order to get better. The New York Mets only went after a slew of former Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees this past offseason because of their availability. Manager Carlos Mendoza’s familiarity with players like Harrison Bader and Luis Severino as well as David Stearns’ experience trade additions Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor all made sense for a Mets club with a whole lot of 40-man roster vacancy.

At this year’s trade deadline, we could see the Mets coincidentally go after a few other ex-Brewers or Yankees. They may even see themselves flirting with trades to bring in some once upon a time Atlanta Braves.

The Braves don’t have a firm grasp of the top Wild Card spot. Catching them would be a dream for the Mets if for no other reason than to shift momentum. Hosting against an inferior opponent doesn't hurt either. While not the ultimate goal, trading for any of these former Braves players could help New York reach the top Wild Card spot where they currently trail by 4 games.

1) Kevin Pillar

Both a former Braves player and an ex-Met, Kevin Pillar is a trade commodity many teams will be inquiring about. Even the Braves could use him on their roster. In what should be his final MLB season, the Los Angeles Angels outfielder will have at least a couple of days where his name gets mentioned a lot and fans of contenders all seem to think he’ll save them.

On the Mets, Pillar makes complete sense as a right-handed hitting murderer of left-handed pitchers. Overall this year with the Angels he’s batting .290/.340/.476 with 6 home runs in 156 plate appearances. We can toss out the .160/.290/.360 he batted as a member of the Chicago White Sox to begin the year to help justify this. Far more spectacular is the .368/.411/.618 slash line he holds against lefties in 73 opportunities.

The Mets’ outfield need is a bit complicated because two of the regulars starting in place of Starling Marte have reverse splits. Jeff McNeil is hitting .250/.290/.352 against lefties while Tyrone Taylor is at only .188/.222/.290. They come close to swapping places almost literally when we look at righties. Taylor is a .250/.300/.450 hitter against them with McNeil at .208/.274/.329. If you had to wager, McNeil would be the one to more likely bend more toward figuring out righties.

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