The New York Mets are taking the easy route with their trade deadline approach and they’re soon going to find out it’s not worth it. They went after Juan Soto last winter and threw everything they could in his direction to lure him from the intracity rivals and from the Los Angeles Dodgers. And it worked. And that same type of aggression is the only way they will get a starter worth taking a gamble on before July 31.
But according to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Mets are more likely to be passive at the trade deadline than aggressive and it’s going to cost them. Apparently other MLB executives believe David Sterns will likely treat this deadline like he did a year ago, mostly tinkering on the margins and building pitching (and particularly bullpen) depth while avoiding dipping into his top young talent. That said, with massive options out there, it doesn’t make sense to settle when they can go all in.
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The New York Mets have PTSD about trade deadline moves, keeping them from being aggressive
Of course, the Mets have reason to favor a more conservative approach to the trade deadline. Trading Pete Crow-Armstrong as part of the Javier Baez deal still haunts this franchise; Baez played all of 47 games in New York before he landed with the Detroit Tigers. Now Crow-Armstrong is the face of the Chicago Cubs’ resurgence in the National League this season.
I could see their hesitancy in wanting to offload prospects in an urgent move to get help in the bullpen and the starting pitching staff. But they can’t live in regret. The Mets are a team that’s always living in a world where championships are the expectation, especially with Steve Cohen around.
Being complacent isn’t going to make that happen. The Mets have to get over the thought of losing out on potential and missing out on a guarantee, if it requires them to trade away prospects. If they can get a solid player without giving up too much, then go for it. But contenders do whatever it takes to win.
The Mets need to do whatever it takes to win this season. Sure they have Soto locked up for the next 15 years, but the Mets are a team that’s expected to compete in the postseason every year. Bringing in Soto meant the Mets committed to playoff success for the duration of his contract. That means they need to be aggressive in the next week to make sure they’re competitive in the postseason. Even if that means parting ways with top prospects that could end up turning into stars.