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

3) Kevin Gausman

Is Kevin Gausman even up for sale? A free agent target of the Mets a few winters ago, he reportedly took less money to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. Don’t take it personally. The veteran who spent the last months of 2018 with the Braves and the first part of 2019 with them is still a match albeit further out of reach one for the Metropolitans.

This year hasn’t been as strong for Gausman who, since leaving the Braves, has been a top ten Cy Young finisher three times. His numbers this year will have him out of the race which might have the Blue Jays more willing to sell.

Gausman is 7-8 with a 4.50 ERA in 104 innings this season. Last year’s strikeout leader with 237 isn’t going to go back-to-back as he has averaged exactly one per this year. Has age finally caught up to Gausman? His strikeouts are down, home runs allowed are up, and with an average exit velocity of 90mph against him, it’ll be the first time in his career since this was tracked (it started in 2015) where he’s in the 90s.

Owed the remainder of his $22 million this year plus $46 million over the next two seasons, getting out from his salary would be a great benefit to the Blue Jays. Some other younger players they’d probably like to pay, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., could make an older veteran like Gausman expendable.

Don’t think of this as a salary dump, though. Gausman will remain a hot commodity if made available. The money isn’t that outrageous considering how high the market continues to go.

For the Mets, adding him would be a bit of a surprise considering the biggest rumors going around have the team selling a starter. Adding him would allow them to possibly move a starter to the bullpen or even execute a separate trade while continuing to have a deep rotation. Christian Scott will be on an innings limit and David Peterson can’t be trusted. The Mets, whether they like it or not, could use a starting pitcher addition. Gausman, because of his contract, might not cost quite as large of a prospect haul as some others of his ilk. A player the Mets would be buying low on, he’s a change of scenery candidate merely for the poor performance at home this year. He’s 1-5 with a 7.19 ERA in 9 starts in Toronto. On the road, Gausman is 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts.