Last year, at the Major League Baseball trading deadline, the New York Mets acquired Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson and Yoenis Cespedes. David Wright also came off the disabled list and they called up rookie Michael Conforto from the minors. All of these moves helped New York win their division and catapulted them into the World Series. But as this year’s trading deadline approaches, they are once again at a crossroads.
The Mets are 45-38, but are still facing a ton of adversity. Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey have not pitched as well as expected, Wright is out for the year with a neck injury and Conforto was sent down to the minors. All is not lost however; the team is in a much better position than they were last year at this time.
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Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia have all been selected for the All-Star game. Rookie Brandon Nimmo has been a breath of fresh air since joining the team on June 25; fans have quickly come to appreciate Nimmo’s effort, hustle and smile during the games. He has brought fun back to a team that appeared to be playing very tense. The Mets also signed Jose Reyes and are hopeful he can become the team’s lead-off batter and perhaps relive some of his glory years when he was their starting shortstop from 2003-2011.
Despite the positives, the Mets are still in desperate need of some offense. They are currently at the bottom of the league in runs scored, RBI’s, and batting average.
So how can the Mets make the best use of the trade deadline? Well, Matt Harvey initially went on the 15 -day disabled list but it has since been announced that he will be out for the season after undergoing surgery. It’s hard to ignore that Harvey has struggled early on in the season; the man who is known as “The Dark Knight” is 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA, so losing him might not be a bad thing. He is only the 5th best pitcher on their roster right now, and 26-year-old Zach Wheeler is due to come off the injury list sometime in late July.
New York has to be very aggressive at the deadline. Injuries and lack of production from certain veterans and young players have caused them to be behind the Washington Nationals all season long. Their pitching is still a strong point, but they need offense. The time to spend money and “go for it” is now. When you have a pitching staff with depth as young and talented as this, you can’t miss the playoffs. If the Mets don’t get back to the post-season, it will be a colossal failure and a huge disappointment for both fans and the organization.
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