MLB Rumors: 3 players New York Mets should pursue at the trade deadline

The Mets’ bullpen isn’t short on big names, but they seem to be more sizzle than substance at this juncture. Flamethrowers like Dellin Betances and Edwin Diaz are coming off of seasons in which the former only pitched in one game due to injury and the latter couldn’t keep the ball in the ballpark, which caused his ERA to balloon.

That uncertainty should get the Mets brass thinking about trading for a reliever that could come right in and either take the closer role away from Diaz or become a shutdown setup man and Keone Kela fits the bill.

Kela has posted a 2.79 ERA or lower in three of his five seasons in the big leagues, even throwing up a 2.12 ERA for Pittsburgh in 2019. He is scheduled to go into the season as the closer after the whole Felipe Vazquez ordeal, but his Pirates likely will finish near the bottom of the NL Central, which should get the trade wheels spinning once again. The Mets can’t afford to let elite talents at positions of need like Kela and his triple-digit heater go.

If the Mets want to make a run at the NL East crown without giving up elite prospects, trading for Kela would quench both of those thirsts.