3 Mets trade candidates to keep unless the offer is too good to be true

3) NY Mets shouldn’t rush to trade Starling Marte unless the deal is perfect

Starling Marte has been one of the bigger Mets busts this season. How was it that only a year ago he was days away from being an All-Star? The Marte free agent signing was no question worth an A grade last year. This season has knocked it down to something closer to a C. There are two more seasons left of it.

Marte is an expensive corner outfielder whose defense is on the decline. His bat hasn’t been great but he can still run and there’s a ton of value in stealing bases with the new MLB rule changes. Until Marte loses a step there, he can have a place on an MLB roster.

The Mets should try hard to trade Marte and have a willingness to eat a portion of the salary to get something of value back. However, if they don’t feel like the deal is perfect, holding onto Marte is fine.

The offseason is the time to trade Marte if the Mets can’t get something done now. Even then, Marte can bring something to the Mets. Their bigger issue is how the ball club is made up of too many guys without much power. Marte’s home runs are trending way down and for a club without a single true power hitter in the outfield, it’s going to negatively affect the offense.

Marte seems like a guy who might end up seeing his season end early with surgery. Offseason core surgery, groin tightness, and a bunch of hit by pitches to the hand; Marte has a lengthy resume of being hurt since joining the Mets. The perfect trade involving Marte might not necessarily include a strong prospect haul as much as it clears space for a better and less-beaten player.