3 small Mets trades we can realistically expect before Opening Day

The New York Mets have stayed away from making any blockbuster trades this offseason. With the position they’re in, it makes sense. They aren’t selling off any major pieces. They’re also disinterested in giving up much from their own team.

This doesn’t mean they’re done with trades. Fans can still expect the team to deal from within and potentially make any of these smaller trades before the season begins.

1) The Mets trade Omar Narvaez somewhere to replace an injured catcher

The demand around the league for a catcher like Omar Narvaez isn’t great. Shipwrecked sailors in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would pay a higher price for salt water. Hurt and ineffective in 2023 with an over-inflated salary, he’s a guy the Mets are only trading if they eat most of his contract the same way they did with James McCann.

Just because there isn’t the demand for Narvaez right now doesn’t mean it won’t open up. Catchers get battered behind the plate. One is bound to go down with an unexpected injury soon after they report to camp.

There is no true urgency for the Mets to actually dump Narvaez. We’re now close enough to players reporting to camp where they mine as well hold onto him and see how things unfold. A foul tip off of someone’s finger can open the door to a phone call to the Mets in regards to exactly how much money they’d be willing to eat of his deal and what they might want in return.

The obvious roster replacement for Narvaez would then become Tomas Nido who is already signed to a major league deal but sitting off of the 40-man roster after last year’s DFA. A well-regarded backstop who has been praised by pitchers in the past, the Mets will be just fine with him as long as Francisco Alvarez stays healthy. Isn’t this the worry of all teams, though?

2) The Mets trade Phil Bickford somewhere for a 26-year-old prospect in Double-A

Phil Bickford is the one player the Mets didn’t avoid arbitration with. Although they could always come to a deal before the deadline, the difference of only $85K seems to suggest the Mets aren’t so keen on him. Bickford asked for $900K. The Mets offered $815K.

It was already somewhat of a surprise for the Mets to tender him a deal. They passed on several others. Bickford, who may have been kept around for some depth in the bullpen, is more expendable than ever. He’s one of the players on the 40-man roster without options whom the Mets may prefer to simply replace with a pitcher they can demote as needed.

The Mets wouldn’t get much at all for Bickford in a trade. What about a 26-year-old in Double-A looking to change positions? Something of this ilk is about all we could conceivably hope to receive in exchange for a pitcher who has bounced around the leagues already in his relatively young career.

If he somehow did make it onto the Opening Day roster, Bickford would be one of the first DFA candidates of the regular season. He’s no stranger to it nor is David Stearns who already released him back when each was employed by the Milwaukee Brewers.