Every Mets trade candidate on the MLB roster and why they could go

How many trades will the New York Mets actually make this winter? We can expect them to execute maybe one blockbuster. Along the way, there’s also a deal to dump a player probably around the corner. Then there are those kinds of trades where everyone wins or no one does.

The Mets actually have quite a few theoretical trade candidates already on the MLB roster aka candidates to open the season with the team. Not all of them will disappear into the MLB vortex. Billy Eppler should be fielding calls on each of them.

Who are they and why is each a candidate to get moved?

1) NY Mets trade candidate Darin Ruf has no place in Flushing

The most obvious trade candidate on the Mets is Darin Ruf. It’s obvious because he has no place on the roster. Ruf was an absolute fail of a trade deadline addition last year. The Mets cannot possibly retain him for another season.

The pros of trading Ruf, even for nothing much at all, far outweigh the pros of keeping him. Although he can play some right field if needed, he suits the Mets best as a mercenary piece. He filled that role as imperfectly as possible last year. Nothing suggests the plan would work out better in 2023.

The old “for a bag of balls” joke applies perfectly to his trade situation.

2) NY Mets trade candidate Daniel Vogelbach isn’t safe in New York quite yet

The Mets did pick up Daniel Vogelbach’s $1.5 million option for 2023. Does it mean he’ll be back? Not necessarily. Given the choice between that, arbitration, or cutting him loose for nothing at all, the Mets are standing their ground.

Vogelbach’s performance with them last year makes him a much more desirable trade chip for other ball clubs than his platoon partner, Ruf. He at least showed some promise of being able to produce in a platoon situation. First base-needy clubs could consider him a very affordable option.

If the Mets did trade him, the best they could probably hope to get is a minor league version of Colin Holderman, the man they sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates for him last summer. Vogelbach is better than Ruf. He’s also not a great solution for too many team’s first base or DH situation.