Pros and cons of all 3 Athletics pitchers

Pros and cons of NY Mets trade candidate Sean Manaea

Another player headed to free agency next winter, Manaea also falls into the “must trade” category for Oakland. Letting him play out the season would be foolish if there is no intention to sign him or do everything in their power to compete in 2022. Everything seems to indicate the A’s will not plan on winning for at least a few more years.

Manaea has been a well-known pitcher for a couple of seasons now. A relatively healthy arm with the exception of the 2019 campaign where he made only 5 starts, he’s the lone lefty on this list which definitely adds to his value.

The Mets currently don’t have that trusted lefty in their rotation. Whether it matters or not, it should be something to mull over when deciding how they plan to build a better roster.

Manaea has been excellent at finding the plate in his career and managed to raise his strikeout rate to 9.7 per nine last season—a new career-best. He fits in with what the Mets really need.

The same sentiments about his control that are true of Bassitt are there for Manaea as well. Having him around for one year is helpful and should lower the price tag a little bit. This can allow the Mets to regroup next offseason and assess whether he returns or not. In Manaea’s case, a lot of whether or not the Mets should trade for him comes down to the asking price. Anything outrageous and it’s time to turn elsewhere.

Pros and cons of NY Mets trade candidate Frankie Montas

Montas is different from Bassitt and Manaea because he has two years of control left. This will, undoubtedly, make him a little more expensive in any trade.

Added to this value is how impressive he was in 2021. The sixth-place finisher in the Cy Young race over in the American League, he went 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA. For the first time in his career, Montas blew past 100 innings by logging 187 total. Everything that could have gone his way just about did.

Montas is the kind of pitcher the Mets could look to buy now before he really takes off. He is trending upward. Many will rightfully believe he’s on track to become one of the better pitchers in baseball this coming season and beyond.

Set to reach 29-years-old in March, Montas could be considered a bit of a late bloomer. Last season was his first truly successful full campaign. That’s the big con that stands out. For all we know, it’s an outlier of what’s next for him.

All three pitchers can offer the Mets a little something different. Do they rent Bassitt or Manaea for a season then go from there or is Montas worth the investment to get two seasons out of him?

The final decision may ultimately come down to whether or not any games are missed in 2022. Losing one of the two full years on Montas’ control is huge. Renting Bassitt or Manaea for a season—regardless of the number of games that are played—won’t really change much.

Manaea is the guy I want but let’s not sleep on Bassitt. The team has steered toward adding “older” players with talent this offseason. Bassitt could be the next one.

As for Montas, I think I’d like to see a little more before meeting the asking price.