TRADE DEADLINE

BY MARK HALPERN

    The Mets have had hit a big time speedbump in their season. A massive reason for them being 3-12 in their last 15 games is the fact that the starting pitching just isn’t going deep into games. . The Mets have had to deal with injuries (just like all other teams), Clay Holmes is on an innings limit, and other guys are coming back from injuries. Here is a massive question: Are the Mets and Stearns willing to part with some of the young talent, to improve this rotation for the present.

  The Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball. About three weeks ago the lineup went cold and  the pitching staff looked fine, but with Kodai Senga and Griffin Canning going down with injuries. Fans are still waiting for Sean Manea to come back from an oblique injury in Spring Training. Frankie Montas just came back and has had one good outing and one dreadful outing. David Peterson’s last two starts have been terrible, and Clay Holmes has thrown the most innings of his career. With about a month until the trade deadline, what will the Mets do?

   We have seen time and time again teams made better by the use of the trade deadline. Lower end teams or teams that are already out of contention look to move players they won’t be able to sign and gain future pieces from other teams. Well, if it is youth that teams are going to look at it will be the Mets. The Mets have 8 of the top 100 prospects currently playing at AA or higher. The question becomes who of those prospects are they willing to part with. I can’t see them parting with some bigger names The Mets do have a logjam of infielders, so could they move a Mauricio or Baty? Probably not, but the other question you have to ask is that is any of their players worth what is out there. Myself and Mike Rifkin believe there is a starter out there for the Mets to pull a trigger on. The Mets might have to let one or two pieces leave to get a high-end pitcher the question becomes, will they?

 One of the things Steve Cohen did when he took over was he improved the farm system, by paying out the contracts of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.  Now might be the time for Stearns and Cohen to pull the trigger on something big, because this is a go for it season, as will most seasons with Juan Soto.