Is there any trade left to make with the Reds?
Send your love and deepest sympathies to any Cincinnati Reds fan you may know. It’s a tough time for them right now. Rather than try to compete, the team is dismantling the ball club. Everyone is up for grabs. It’s time for the New York Mets to see if there’s anything left for them.
The club has already traded away Sonny Gray, Eugenio Suarez, and our good friend Jesse Winker. They let multiple free agents walk, most notably allowing Nick Castellanos go.
The addition of Chris Bassitt to the Mets eliminates a trade for Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle. There’s no real position player for the Mets to go after. Will they get involved in the fire sale at all?
There may be one Reds player left for the Mets to think about
Still missing from the Mets is a left-handed reliever. They’ve added a few guys on minor league deals. However, none of them will feel the missing void Aaron Loup left behind.
On the Reds, there is one lefty reliever to think about, Amir Garrett. A little reckless and wild, he is perhaps best known for stirring up trouble on the mound. He even had his own run-in with former Met Javier Baez days before he was traded to New York. If you’re looking for someone to fire up the team or maybe fight the opponent, Garrett is your guy.
But he’s not a fit for the Mets.
The Mets have been very cautious about the types of personalities they’re bringing to the 2022 team. Not everyone is a choir boy. For the most part, though, you can imagine everyone on the roster eating brunch with their grandmother every Sunday in the offseason. I guess Garrett could eat brunch with his. I feel like he might also start a fight at any moment with the staff at Denny’s if his booth isn’t close enough to the window.
Personality aside, Garrett was awful last season. At 0-4 with a 6.04 ERA, it was a huge step back for him after two straight good years in 2019 and 2020. He now has a lifetime ERA of 5.10 to match up with his walk rate of 4.8 per nine.
Even in a pure salary dump scenario, it’s a hard pass. Garrett isn’t much better than any random veteran the Mets could pick up off the scrap heap. Alex Claudio or Mike Montgomery could do the things he does and not get ejected in the end.
Certain people will buy anything that’s on sale regardless of whether they need it or not.
There’s a sale in Cincinnati right now. The Mets, as much as they are itching to buy, won’t find their size in the shop.