The New York Mets are lucky that they didn’t trade for some of the players they were rumored to be interested in before the trade deadline.
The New York Mets were among many playoff contenders that made additions to their team at the trade deadline. They added first baseman/DH Daniel Vogelbach from the Pirates, outfielder Tyler Naquin from the Reds, first baseman/outfielder/DH Darin Ruf from the Giants, and reliever Mychal Givens from the Cubs.
Overall, they have received a mixed bag. Ruf and Givens have struggled with the Mets, but both Vogelbach and Naquin have played very well. There are three targets that the Mets had before the trade deadline that they didn’t trade for and have not played well recently for their new team or team that decided to keep them.
Here are three trade deadline moves the Mets are lucky they didn’t make.
New York Mets: 3 trade deadline moves they are lucky they didn’t make
1) Trade for Josh Bell
The Mets were rumored to be talking with the Washington Nationals for first baseman/DH Josh Bell but, instead, the Mets when with the aforementioned Vogelbach. The Nationals pivoted as well, as they traded Bell to the San Diego Padres along with outfielder Juan Soto.
When the Nationals had Bell, he should have been an All-Star. He was hitting .301/.384/.493 with 14 home runs, 57 RBI, 24 doubles, and an OPS+ of 152 in 103 games. With the Padres, he has played in 18 games (entering Tuesday) and he has been terrible.
He is hitting .138/.263/.262 with two home runs, five RBI, two doubles, and an OPS+ of 54. From 52 percent above league average to 46 percent below league average: not exactly what the Mets would want for their stretch run, especially since he is a rental.
2) Trade for C.J. Cron
When the Mets were interested in Josh Bell, the same report indicated that they were also interested in Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron. Unlike Bell, Cron was an All-Star.
Entering the All-Star break, he was hitting .298/.350/.552 with 21 home runs and 69 RBI. That would have put Cron on a 162-game pace for 38 home runs and 124 RBI. Since the All-Star break (entering Tuesday), Cron has hit .171/.230/.295 with two home runs and 11 RBI.
The Rockies were the only team in the sport that did not make a single trade at the trade deadline. They are hoping that Cron will rebound to his first half ways as they signed him to a two-year extension before the start of this year, but Cron’s value likely won’t ever be higher. The Mets, as a result, would have had to pay a premium for him despite having a rough month.
Now, the Rockies are having to play musical chairs with Cron, Connor Joe, and prospect Elehuris Montero (who was the centerpiece of the Nolan Arenado trade) at first base, Ryan McMahon and Montero at third, and Charlie Blackmon, Cron, Joe, and Montero at DH. Blackmon and Joe can each play the outfield, but trading Cron would have given them the opportunity to see Montero play every day at first base, which is his best defensive position.
3) Trade for J.D. Martínez
Unlike Bell and Cron, J.D. Martínez has exclusively been a designated hitter this year, which is part of the reason why the Mets likely passed on him. He didn’t seem to be the Mets first pick for things anyway, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Twitter on July 29 that the Mets were scouting the Red Sox if the Cubs’ asking prices for David Robertson and Willson Contreras were too expensive.
The Red Sox decided not to trade Martínez, and the Cubs also didn’t trade Contreras. Not trading Martínez has been a mistake.
The Red Sox have fallen into last place and have been for a few weeks, despite the Orioles selling at the trade deadline and the Red Sox putting themselves in the middle (buying and selling). In the meantime, Martínez has fallen off a cliff from his All-Star-worthy start.
He was hitting .351 with an OPS of .994 entering play on June 17. Given those high marks, it’s easy to see why he was an All-Star but also easy to project that he would fall back to Earth. Entering Tuesday, he had played in 50 games since then: he has hit .192/.262/.277 with one home run and 18 RBI.
Since the All-Star break, he has been a bit better but still not good by any stretch. He has hit .200/.308/.273 with no home runs and six RBI.
The Mets traded J.D. Davis to the Giants because they weren’t getting enough production out of the DH spot, and Martínez’s recent play still would have been a dropoff — a dropoff that the Mets do not need in their stretch run and in the playoffs.