4 best designated hitter options for the Mets to add at the trade deadline

NY Mets trade rumors: DH trade candidate Trey Mancini

The second designated hitter that has appeared in Mets trade rumors is Trey Mancini of the Baltimore Orioles. Mancini has been a solid hitter for the Orioles since his debut, and he is having another fine season. Mancini currently holds a slash line of .280/.354/.423, coming up in big moments for the Orioles and serving as one of the team’s leaders on the field and in the community.

At 30 years old, Mancini is in the heart of his prime, so any team interested in acquiring him would not have to worry about him declining rapidly as the season continues. Although Mancini’s power numbers are down compared to previous seasons (he has 8 home runs this year), much of that can be attributed to the Orioles radically moving back the left field fence.

Mancini is a much more valuable trade candidate than Cron for the simple reason that Mancini offers more versatility than Cron does. Although Mancini has mostly played at first base and designated hitter for the Orioles, he has also spent time at the corner outfield spots in Baltimore as well. For a team that has suffered many key injuries over the year, the Mets and general manager Billy Eppler value players who can play multiple positions.

Given the positional versatility, solid offense and defense, and the fact that he is known as a quality clubhouse guy, Mancini would fit very well with the Mets, so it should come as no surprise that he's been mentioned in several Mets trade rumors.

The question is whether the Orioles would be willing to trade Mancini. He has come up in trade rumors before, and thus far, the Orioles have shown a reluctance to trade him despite their rebuilding status. There is a little doubt that the Orioles would get significant value by trading him, but so far, the Orioles have preferred to keep him as a mentor for the team’s burgeoning young stars.

However, with Mancini set to be a free agent in the offseason, perhaps this is the time to attain some value for him before he leaves as a free agent. The Orioles are cognizant enough to understand that Mancini will most likely not be on the Orioles roster in 2023, so trading him for prospects instead of losing him in free agency for nothing sounds like a practical course of action.

The Mets have the assets to make a trade work with Baltimore. The question will be how much the Orioles will demand to part with a fan favorite player who is having a fine season. It’s very possible that for a deal to get done, the Mets may have to overpay the Orioles.

NY Mets trade rumors: DH trade candidate Nelson Cruz

The third designated hitter candidate that has been mentioned in Mets trade rumors comes from one of the Mets biggest rivals: the Washington Nationals. Slugger Nelson Cruz may be in his forties, and he may have gotten off to a slow start, but he is still hitting for power, delivering the Nationals many extra-base hits thus far this season.

Last offseason, Cruz signed a 1-year deal with the Nationals, which was surprising, given that the team was not expected to contend. Because that reality has settled in, the Nationals should be in full-sale mode as the Trade Deadline approaches, and there is no need for a 42-year-old slugger on a team that is going nowhere in 2022.

Cruz makes a lot of sense for the Mets. He offers a more powerful bat than Davis and Smith. He would easily slot in as the team’s designated hitter and would be best deployed hitting behind Pete Alonso, which would give Alonso protection and give him good pitches to hit.

Cruz would also be a relatively inexpensive option. Because of Cruz’s advanced age, and the fact that he is beginning to show signs of decline, the Mets would be able to retain all of their highly valued prospects in any potential deal for Cruz.

However, he is 42 years old. When Cruz was traded to the Rays last year from Minnesota, he did not perform well during the stretch run. There is a risk that the same occurrence happens with them. What is concerning about Cruz is that his bat speed has diminished, which means more fastballs are zipping by him before he can catch up to them. This is usually a tell-tale sign for a slugger in decline.

Unlike some of the hitters described in this article, Cruz is also the most limited. At this stage in his career, Cruz can only serve as the designated hitter. He has only spent one game at first base in his career, and his days roaming the outfield have been extinct for years.

However, Cruz represents a lower cost option to the final designated hitter on this list, who also makes a lot of sense for the Mets.

NY Mets trade rumors: DH trade candidate Josh Bell

Finally, we get to the last designated hitter candidate who has appeared in Mets trade rumors, and it is another Washington National. Josh Bell, who has admirably served as the Nationals first baseman for the past couple years, is batting .308/.389/.497 with an OPS+ of 156. He currently has 12 home runs and 47 RBI on the season through 86 games.

Josh Bell makes sense for the Mets because he is a much more powerful left-handed hitter than Smith, and therefore would be projected to have the biggest impact down the stretch. Bell is also capable of hitting right-handed as well, which makes him valuable to the Nationals because of his switch-hitting ability. Whereas Davis and Smith are primarily deployed depending on the pitching matchup, the Mets would not have to be concerned about that as much with Bell.

The Nationals have no reason to hang onto Bell. Despite Bell’s numbers, the Nationals are a bad team, and they currently have the worst record in the National League. They will have the desire to make a deal, knowing that the alternative is that they would lose him for nothing in the offseason.

The downside, though, is because Bell is having a career year, he is also probably going to be the most expensive slugger to acquire out of the four trade candidates mentioned in this article. It is also important to note that Bell is 29 years old and will be a free agent at the end of the year. For a two-month rental, any team acquiring him is going to have to be willing to part with valuable prospects. It’s possible that the Mets may not want to do that, considering that their team is already pretty good and they value their organizational depth.

The other complication that comes with Bell is whether the Nationals would be amenable to an intradivision trade. As a general competitive principle, most teams do not like to trade within their division, knowing the risk that a potential trade would carry: there’s always the possibility that the traded player could come back to haunt his previous team, especially since divisional matchups are frequent.

Either way, the Mets should still call the Nationals to see if they can work something out. Smith and Davis, while not terrible hitters, have not gotten the job done, and if an upgrade can be had, the Mets need to pursue it because they are a team with World Series aspirations.