The New York Mets have a team capable of winning the World Series if David Stearns addresses the evident holes on the roster. From what Jon Heyman of the New York Post ($) had to say about the Mets' deadline plans, it sounds as if Stearns will attempt to address those holes without parting with any of their top prospects.
"The Mets don't like to surrender their very top prospects, and the three they most want to keep are pitchers Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, and INF/OF Jett Williams," Heyman wrote.
If Joe Ryan becomes available, you can rule the Mets out if they're unwilling to trade anyone from that trio. The same can probably be said for a guy like Freddy Peralta if he were to become available. Acquiring high-end starting pitching with additional years of club control is hard to do without parting with any top prospects.
With that being said, the Mets can make several impactful trades to address holes on their roster without having to part with any of their truly elite young guys. Any of these players likely can be had without the Mets trading too much to get a deal done.
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5) Gregory Soto, RP, Baltimore Orioles
How fun would it be for the Mets to have two Soto's? In all seriousness, Baltimore Orioles veteran Gregory Soto would fill arguably the biggest need on the Mets' roster as a left-handed reliever. Both A.J. Minter and Danny Young are out for the season, and while Brooks Raley's return is imminent, it's anyone's best guess as to what he'll look like after coming back from Tommy John surgery.
Soto would give the Mets a second lefty option, and one they're awfully familiar with dating back to his days with the Philadelphia Phillies. Soto has always had troubles with command, and this season has been no exception, but he strikes out a ton of batters and is generally tough to hit. What really sticks out about Soto is the .154/.274/.308 slash line left-handed hitters have against him. In a division that includes All-Stars like Kyle Schwarber, Matt Olson and James Wood from the left side, having a left-handed reliever the Mets can trust to get any left-handed hitter out would be a great thing.
The 30-year-old is a quality option, but he's far from elite, and is also in his final year of club control. Soto won't cost anything worth Mets fans worrying about.
4) Danny Coulombe, RP, Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins shouldn't be considered locks to sell at this year's trade deadline, but there's certainly a chance they head in that direction. If they do, there's a good chance that Danny Coulombe, another veteran left-handed reliever on an expiring contract, will be made available.
Coulombe has been underratedly solid for much of his 11-year career, but he's never been better than he's been this season, as his 0.68 ERA in 35 appearances would indicate. He's allowed a total of two earned runs in 26.2 innings of work, and has not given up a single home run. He's been as close to perfect as a reliever can be.
Like Soto, Coulombe has dominated left-handed hitters, holding them to a .469 OPS. Unlike Soto, he's also dominated right-handed hitters, to the tune of a .445 OPS in 54 plate appearances. In the three-batter rule era, having a left-handed reliever who can get both righties and lefties out is extremely valuable. There will be competition to acquire him, but given his age (35), position and contract status, the Mets won't have to part with anything close to a top prospect to acquire Coulombe.
3) David Bednar, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Edwin Diaz is performing as well as any closer in the National League, but the relievers in front of him have had their ups and downs. Adding a lockdown reliever to pitch in the eighth inning ahead of Diaz would go a long way, and David Bednar fits the bill.
Bednar has a 2.53 ERA in 36 appearances this season, and he's struck out 45 batters in 32 innings of work. Most impressively, Bednar has a 1.74 ERA and a 1.44 FIP since his rough start to the year, and he has not allowed an earned run since May 23 — nearly two full months ago.
The Pittsburgh Pirates don't have to trade Bednar since he has another year of club control, but it'd make sense for them to sell high on him. Bednar would be costly considering that extra year of control, but still not expensive enough for the Mets to have to give up a member of that trio. Acquiring Bednar would give the Mets arguably the best late-game duo in the National League, while also giving them a safety net at the closer position if Diaz decides to opt out of his contract and leave in free agency in the offseason.
2) Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks
All of the focus when it comes to available Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitchers is on Zac Gallen, and that makes sense, but Merrill Kelly might be the better fit for the Mets. Both Gallen and Kelly are free agents after the year, but Kelly has had the far better season and might even cost less to acquire.
Kelly has a 3.34 ERA in a league-leading 20 starts and 116 innings of work this season. He allowed nine runs while failing to complete four innings in his second start of the season, but he has a 2.74 ERA in 18 starts since, while striking out more than a batter an inning.
Starting pitching isn't as big of a need for the Mets as their bullpen, especially now that Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga are healthy. But adding an impactful rental could make sense, especially with Clay Holmes already beyond his previous career high in innings pitched.
Kelly figures to get a lot of attention if the Diamondbacks are willing to sell at the deadline, but again, he's an expiring contract and happens to also be 36 years of age. He'll command a decent return, but parting with any of their three best prospects for just a couple of months of Kelly won't happen.
1) Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks
Kelly's teammate, Eugenio Suarez, might be the hottest name on the rumor mill right now. Again, bullpen is the biggest Mets need, but given how their lineup has performed outside of their "Fab Four," they'd benefit from adding a big bat like Suarez, who has 31 home runs and an .889 OPS heading out of the All-Star break.
The Mets badly need to lengthen their lineup, and hitting Suarez behind that quartet would do just that. As for positioning, he could play third base while the Mets use one of Brett Baty or Ronny Mauricio at second base and Jeff McNeil in center field. It might not be the best defensively, but the Mets need to score more runs.
Suarez's price is going to be quite high, especially given the interest he's generating around the league, but still: His contract status makes it so that the Mets won't have to give up any of their three best prospects, even in a bidding war, barring the Mets potentially getting Suarez and Kelly in the same package.