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3 strike-throwing Mets trade targets to replace injured Drew Smith on the roster

The Mets now have an immediate need for a right-handed reliever with Drew Smith gone.

By Tim Boyle |
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New York Mets reliever Drew Smith is likely out for the rest of the year with Tommy John surgery about to end his tenure in Queens. Smith is a free agent after the 2024 season. He was bummed about the possibility of being done with the Mets completely.

Smith’s time with the Mets included some good, some bad, and a second Tommy John surgery. The Mets will move forward without him. This makes adding a right-handed reliever a must for the team ahead of the trade deadline.

Right-handed relievers are abundantly available at every trade deadline. How do we narrow it down? Mets pitchers out of the bullpen and in the rotation have been insanely wild. Both groups of issued bases on balls at an unholy rate. Some strike throwers with good command this season should be among the best replacement options they look at.

1) Carlos Estevez

The closer for the Los Angeles Angels for the second straight year, Carlos Estevez is on an expiring contract with a modest $6.75 million salary for this year. He’s a guarantee to get traded somewhere. If the Mets can outbid the competition, they’ll add one of the better relief pitchers on the trade block.

Estevez has a 1-3 record and 3.12 ERA in 26 innings pitched. He has 16 saves, 27 strikeouts, and only 3 walks. We’ve seen countless Mets pitchers walk 3 in a single inning. Estevez has issued that many all season long.

The last line of defense on the mound for the Angels was recently on one of the hottest streaks imaginable by retiring 26 straight batters.

With Smith gone and Adam Ottavino being more untrustworthy, Estevez feels like one of the better setup men we could imagine on the Mets. Probably one of the more costly options as well, he still shouldn’t break the farm system.

2) Shelby Miller

Shelby Miller is still somehow only 33-years-old and in that phase of his career where he has successfully reinvented himself as a relief pitcher. Well-traveled, he is now with the Detroit Tigers pitching well out of their bullpen. He’s not at the 1.71 ERA level he was last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nevertheless, he is a very affordable arm and someone who has thrown strikes this season.

Miller’s numbers were much better before Estevez’s Angels scored 3 runs in an inning against him on Friday. His ERA is now at 4.62 on the year.

This shouldn’t scare the Mets off too much. He has 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings and only 6 walks. Holding batters to a .187 batting average and not walking very many has led to Miller putting together a 0.91 WHIP on the season.

Getting paid about half of Estevez, he’s a far more affordable player for the Mets to target in every way. The Tigers wouldn’t be able to ask for much nor will he do much damage to the payroll. If avoiding luxury tax penalties and keeping the best prospects around is paramount for the Mets, Miller is the kind of strike-throwing veteran for them to add.

3) Shawn Armstrong

Shawn Armstrong hasn’t been quite as fantastic at avoiding walks as Estevez or Miller. However, he is a superior strikeout pitcher this season than those two. He has fanned 39 in 36.1 innings of work while walking 14. The lowest paid of these three and conveniently a free agent after this season, he’s a natural fit to get traded by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Armstrong has been around the league for a decade and seems to define the unknown for a relief pitcher. A lifetime 3.97 ERA coincidentally nearly matches the 3.96 it sits at with the Rays this season. His 3.5 walks per 9 might seem high but Smith was at 4.6 per 9. It would, in fact, be a noticeable difference.

The Rays have a habit of trading away players when they can even in years when they’re not necessarily in full seller’s mode. This year, their 41-41 record isn’t good enough in a tougher American League to stay within reasonable reach of the Wild Card race. They have several other relievers worth inquiring about.

The baseball circle of life would be complete, too, if it ends up as a trade deadline deal with the Rays to help replace Smith. He came to the Mets via Tampa Bay back in 2017 when they sent Lucas Duda there. Armstrong, or maybe even one of their non-rentals, should be mentioned in a phone conversation between David Stearns and Erick Neander, their President of Baseball Operations.

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