5 under-the-radar position players the Mets should target before the trade deadline

The New York Mets have some trades to make in the next couple of weeks. Obviously the biggest needs right now are bullpen pitchers and a DH, but I want to look at some smaller moves the Mets can make to improve this team.

Here are five under the radar position players the Mets can target before the trade deadline.

NY Mets under the radar trade target: Jorge Mateo

Jorge Mateo could be an electric player off the bench. He is an elite baserunner and defender, the problem is, he just doesn’t hit. He’d be very useful in a pinch-runner-that-stays-in-for-defense role.

There’s nothing pretty about his .205/.258/.353/.610 slash line, or his 72 OPS+. He does show some pop, with 12 doubles, four triples, and seven homers.

The reason to trade for him is his AL-best 22 stolen bases. He has an elite average sprint speed of 30.2 ft/sec, which is 4th in all of baseball and in the 99th percentile. He’s a great base runner overall, having already tallied a 3.5 BsR, which is tied with Dansby Swanson and Luis Robert for 7th in MLB.  

Mateo is also a fantastic defender. Fangraphs has him at 13 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and eight Outs Above Average (OAA) at shortstop, where he’s played the vast majority of his innings. He also has one DRS at second. He’s played a little bit of outfield too, posting 0 DRS in center and left fields, and -1 in right. He’s an adequate or better defender wherever he goes.

Mateo just turned 27 and he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. He won’t become a free agent until 2026. This would be a cost-effective boost to the bench and overall athleticism of this team.

NY Mets under the radar trade target: Kole Calhoun

Calhoun has been one of the more consistent players in baseball over the last decade, both on offense and defense.

Calhoun is slashing .221/.275/.389/.665 with 11 homers, 13 doubles, and 41 RBI’s. He has an OPS+ of 88. 

He is hitting the ball really well. He is in the 89th percentile in hard hit rate, 83rd percentile in average exit velo, 78th percentile in barrel rate, and 65tht percentile in xSLG. There is some swing-and-miss in his game (5th percentile in whiff rate, 12th percentile in strikeout rate), and he doesn’t really walk (23rd percentile in walk rate), but the power is worth it in a smaller role.

Calhoun has seen most of his time in right field, but he can play left too. He has a 1 DRS in left and a -3 in right, but 0 OAA in both. So he’s basically average in both corners. He also has a couple of innings in center, but there certainly wouldn’t be an expectation of him playing there much, if at all, in Queens.

The Rangers have flirted with playoff contention, but they’ve fallen back a bit. They are now eight games below .500 at 41-49, and they’re 7.5 games back from the third wild card slot in the AL. Calhoun is 34 years old and on a one-year deal with a club option for 2023, so if they continue to fall, he is a trade candidate who won’t be too expensive.

NY Mets under the radar trade target: Brad Miller

Brad Miller is the ultimate utility player. Over the course of his career, he’s made over 100 starts at four different positions.

He’s not much of a hitter anymore, but he’s got some pop. He’s slashing .207/.258/.332/.589. He’s got seven homers and 29 RBI’s. He’s in the 82nd percentile in average exit velo and 54th percentile in barrel rate. Last year with the Phillies, he hit 20 homers and slugged .453.

His value comes from being able to play anywhere. He’s literally played every position on the field except pitcher and catcher. He’s mostly been playing third base and left field this year, but over the course of his career, he has the most experience at second base and shortstop. He’s basically average or slightly below at all of them.

On the Mets, he’d be coming off the bench in most of his appearances. He might pinch hit and stay in for defense, or just be brought in as a defensive replacement. He would also get the occasional start when guys need days off, or if there’s an injury he could step into a bigger role.

“Backyard Brad,” as he’s affectionately called by Trevor Plouffe, is on a two-year deal worth $10 million. They front-loaded it, so he’s making six this year and four next year. This is a great utility option for the Mets that can be plugged in pretty much anywhere, and be used as a pinch hitter too. 

NY Mets under the radar trade target: Eric Haase

The Mets haven’t really gotten any offense from the catching position, but Haase is a guy who can change that.

Haase is hitting .242/.298/.433/.731 with seven homers and doubles, 20 RBI’s and 22 runs scored. His OPS+ is 109. He’s been splitting time with Tucker Barnhart, so he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for most Baseball Savant metrics.

Haase is a solid defender behind the dish. His pop time is in the 63rd percentile, so he’s got a pretty good arm. Framing isn’t his strong suit, coming in the 32nd percentile, but that’s fine since we’ll finally have an automatic strike zone before too long. 

Obviously Francisco Alvarez is the future of the Mets’ catching, but since Haase is under team control until 2027, he would be a great backup catcher. Haase doesn’t even hit arbitration until next winter, so he’ll be really cheap in the long term, and shouldn’t cost too much to acquire now from the sputtering Tigers.

The Tigers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, given the up-and-down season their top prospects have had. The future is promising, but when will that actually come to fruition? In the meantime, they can sell pieces like Haase, especially since their #3 prospect, Dillon Dingler, is a catcher who should be up next year. Haase is 29 and still under team control. 

These are just a few under-the-radar trade targets the Mets should consider before the trade deadline. Who else should the Mets pursue?