3 Mets trade options for the bullpen to avoid at all costs

You have a list of relief pitchers you want the New York Mets to trade for. What about the ones you’d prefer them to avoid?

It’s an even longer list of players to avoid. If your ERA is higher than Andre the Giant’s billed weight, you can stay put.

There’s something to like about each of these potential Mets trade candidates. However, with limited spots available, David Stearns is better off putting his resources towards someone else.

1) Michael Kopech

An immaculate inning in relief for the Chicago White Sox had Michael Kopech in the news recently. An accomplishment that will go forgotten in their franchise for another 100 years, he’s a player on the White Sox roster who has gone in the opposite direction than Garrett Crochet. While Crochet is on the rise after transforming from a reliever to a starter, Kopech has gone from being an average starting pitcher in 2022 to a closer in 2024. Things haven’t gone too smoothly.

Kopech is 2-8 with a 5.18 ERA in 40 innings of work. Striking out more than 12 batters per 9 innings isn’t enough to make him a consideration for the Mets when he’s allowing as many runs as he is and with over 5 walks per 9 innings to go with it.

The appeal of Kopech is an extra year of control through 2025. Lower cost on the payroll and the potential of what he can be with another season under his belt will have teams considering him. He has nasty stuff, but the results just haven’t been there this year.

Kopech’s wildness is the biggest turn-off as it has been a plague on the Mets pitching staff in 2024 with the players they already have. Look elsewhere for a controllable reliever even if the cost is higher.

2) Hector Neris

The Mets helped break the Chicago Cubs by taking 2 out of 3 from them back in June. Already broken was closer Hector Neris whose reputation as a combustible reliever has held true this season. 

Neris has dropped his ERA back to 3.86 but his 23 walks versus 35 strikeouts through those first 32.2 innings is scary. He holds a 1.56 WHIP and hitters are batting .235 against him. Even when he calms down and isn’t giving up runs in abundance, Neris is far too prone to issuing walks.

The Mets did consider Neris in the offseason and because of this they might look to pry him away from the Cubs in a trade that might more closely resemble the deal for Phil Maton than what the White Sox would want for Kopech. Despite Kopech’s poorer numbers, they don’t need to save any cash with him. For Neris, to get out from the remainder of the $9 million owed plus the potential of a vesting option for next year could help out the Cubs financially. They’re not in a dire situation, but it would certainly be nice to reset their intentions in the closer spot.

Years of seeing Neris explode as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies will have most Mets fans agreeing he’s not a solution.