4 trade deadline mistakes Billy Eppler must avoid at all costs

How New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler performs his job at this year’s trade deadline may go a long way toward costing him his job or providing a little more security. His worst moments as the general manager occurred at last year’s trade deadline. He wore a golden sombrero for all of the moves he made.

Eppler has shown he can learn from his mistakes. The Mets were less hesitant to promote the prospects this year in their time of need. Can he perform better at the trade deadline this time around?

It’s these four mistakes he’s going to need to avoid at all costs in order to stay or get into the good graces of Mets fans.

1) NY Mets trade deadline mistake to avoid: Don’t give up something better for something weaker

Why would someone actually trade away a better piece for something weaker? It’s exactly what happened with last year’s Darin Ruf deal with the San Francisco Giants. Some could argue J.D. Davis had worn out his welcome by the time the Mets made the swap. Even so, the trade is indefensible.

The Mets have overpaid at consecutive trade deadlines. Eppler wasn’t responsible in 2021 when they gave up Pete Crow-Armstrong for two months of Javier Baez and a year and a half of Trevor Williams. That’s a little more understandable except for the fact that the team didn’t do much more than bring in Baez to support the roster.

It may seem obvious. When you make a trade, your aim is to get better immediately. The Mets roster does have a couple of pieces we could see dealt from the MLB roster or upper minor leagues. Even if the trade ages poorly, the immediate effect needs to be a boost to the win column and not the sudden feeling that our general manager just got robbed.

Avoiding this mistake begins by trying every internal option possible before we get to the trade deadline. The Mets wasted too much time last year not letting any of the prospects play in the majors. Don’t let this happen again.

2) NY Mets trade deadline mistake to avoid: Trade your best prospects only for the missing piece

Prospects are built up in the minor leagues to save a franchise or become trade bait to acquire someone else for the job. Under Eppler, the Mets have been extremely careful about not giving away too many of their better assets. It’s almost as if Steve Cohen put this directive in place after seeing the results of the Baez trade.

The Mets definitely should shop some of those non-MLB ready youngsters. In the right deal, even Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio could be dangled. The mistake to avoid here is to not send them packing for anything less than the missing piece.

What is the missing piece for the Mets? At times this year it has felt like a starting pitcher. Kodai Senga’s flashes of brilliance might be enough for the Mets to feel convinced he can be a number three for them in the postseason. It still wouldn’t hurt to upgrade the rotation with a third ace-level player. It’ll depend on health and how guys like Carlos Carrasco and Jose Quintana are doing.

A missing piece could always be the offensive punch this year’s Mets team seems to be missing. Exactly where they’d play the guy is up for debate. Someone would have to hit the bench for one of those star-level players that would qualify as a missing piece.

Absolutely off the table is the idea of trading one of the better prospects for a relief pitcher. It doesn’t matter if it’s Alexis Diaz who is young, talented, and has years of control. Relievers aren’t missing pieces to your championship puzzle. Avoiding an overpayment here is a trade deadline mistake to avoid at all costs.

4) NY Mets trade deadline mistake to avoid: Don't overbid when you should sell

The Mets always bought at the trade deadline when Brodie Van Wagenen was in charge. In fact, we have to go back to 2018 to find the last time the Mets actually gave away veterans rather than looked to acquire them. It's a bit unusual but understandable. They were always within striking distance around the trade deadline in those three seasons.

The expanded MLB playoffs will, more likely than not, allow the Mets to convince themselves to buy when they should really sell. It's a tough place to be when you're less than a half-dozen games out of a playoff spot with floundering ball clubs separating you from the postseason. Things would have to look dire for the Mets to flip the switch and sell. Way too much has been invested in this team to go into full firesale mode.

What's most unappealing of all would be to do nothing at all. The Mets could buy lightly and hope things turn around. Taking a flier on someone for cheap could be one way to achieve this. They don't have to commit fully in any one direction. Eppler just can't get caught selling the farm for players who will walk at the end of the year or underachieve.

As poorly as June has started for the Mets, one successful week can completely change the narrative. They'll have time to give the front office a clearer picture of what types of actions should be done. Don't wait too long. We want games in August and September to matter. We'd like to see some baseball in October, too.