1 reason why the Mets might not be so active at this year’s trade deadline

The New York Mets are heading in the right direction this season and look like they will once again be buying at the trade deadline. Exactly what it is they’ll need isn’t so clear.

They could use a bat. A bullpen upgrade would be nice, too. Overall, the team really doesn’t need much except for maybe a couple of swaps of players where a position gets better.

What the Mets really need most at this year’s trade deadline is additional depth. Whether that means pushing someone currently on the roster down a level or filling in those holes behind the starters, it’s all the team really will need—at least for now.

The Mets don’t have enough needs right now to overpay at the trade deadline for anyone

Since the Steve Cohen reign began, the front office has been cautious about trading away young players. The theme should continue again this summer but not everyone might be safe.

As MLB.com mentioned, Ronny Mauricio is the club’s best trade asset. Nothing guarantees he gets dealt away this summer. It actually makes a little more sense to hold onto him and find an upgrade in the offseason or maybe hold onto him until 2023 when the team expects to buy yet again at the deadline.

The health of the team is actually pretty good outside of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer who should be back before the trade deadline even arrives. By then, the Mets will have a roster of six starting pitchers including the recently-returned Tylor Megill. Megill would probably land in Triple-A to give the team some ready-for-action starting pitching depth rather than shift to the bullpen. However, the option to use him for the remainder of the year as a reliever—if he is better than one of their other right-handed options—would be available to them.

Jumping forward to the postseason, the Mets have the capacity to put together a dangerous bullpen. Taijuan Walker would be the favorite of many to become the starting pitcher who moves from the rotation to the relief corps although Chris Bassitt’s latest struggles could have people thinking otherwise. Either way, during the period of needing four starters instead of five, the Mets get another arm they can add to the bullpen—likely in favor of Trevor Williams.

The Mets would also be able to carry Megill and even David Peterson in the bullpen if they wanted guys who can go longer than an inning at a time. It’s nothing unusual for starters to pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason. It’s the way the game is played when the schedule changes and allows it.

The Mets should still be in the market for at least one more proven high-leverage relief pitcher to work as a setup man and a power bat to DH for them. Preferably, the DH can also play a position every so often.

Things may change. A player may close his whole arm in a hotel room door and miss the rest of the year. Right now, it’s the depth they already have that hints at a lighter trade deadline for New York.