3 emergency trade targets for Mets after worst-case Kodai Senga update

The New York Mets are the hottest team in the National League, currently a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Braves for second place in the division and owners of the top Wild Card spot. Much will change in the weeks to come, but this Mets team looks and feels like a legitimate force.

It's more than great baseball, too. The team from Queens just has immaculate vibes all around. From their resident pop star Jose Iglesias to the strong, MVP-level surge from Francisco Lindor, the Mets are among the happiest, most joyous teams to watch on a nightly basis. We are officially in backwards land. The Upside Down. And man, maybe this Mets team has what it takes to make noise in the playoffs.

As such, we can expect David Stearns to operate aggressively ahead of the trade deadline on Tuesday. Steve Cohen has the deepest pockets in the MLB and he tends to put his money where his mouth is. If the Mets are contenders, out of the blue, they are going to act like it.

The primary trade needs for New York are outfield depth and relief pitchers, but a rare injection of bad news could change Stearns' deadline plans entirely. Kodai Senga, after a successful season debut against the Braves on Wednesday, is officially done for the season with a high grade left calf strain.

Senga was a huge part of the Mets' second-half projection. The All-Star struck out nine batters in 5.1 innings in his season debut, but came up limping mid-game and that's all she wrote. Senga should be back in top form next season, but in the interim, the Mets are (still) down their best pitcher.

New York has excelled without Senga in recent weeks, but there's still incentive to look for replacements on the trade front. Here are a few logical targets for New York.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

3. Yusei Kikuchi, Toronto Blue Jays

If the Mets opt for a short-term rental, Yusei Kikuchi stands out as one of the best options available. He has been wildly inconsistent across two and a half seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, but the baseline is solid and Kikuchi has tantalizing peaks. At 33 years old, the former All-Star is due $10 million this season, well within New York's price range for a potential postseason starter.

Even as he ages beyond his prime, Kikuchi has mean stuff on the mound. He pushes the upper-90s with his fastball and gets a healthy number of swings and misses, with a whiff rate (28.1) in the 72nd percentile, per Baseball Savant. He has compiled 22 starts and 115.2 innings this season, posting a 4.75 ERA and 1.340 WHIP with 130 strikeouts.

He isn't a No. 1 ace on the same level as Senga, to be clear, but Kikuchi slots comfortably into the postseason mix alongside top-shelf vets Jose Quintana and Luis Severino. He's due for a change of scenery, and could benefit from the general positivity around the Mets' organization compared to the ongoing dour mood in Toronto.

He won't come cheap since the market for pitchers is so tightly squeezed, but the Mets should be able to land Kikuchi without mortgaging the farm. He's on the wrong side of 30 on an expiring deal, so this is a pure stopgap to hold the Mets over until Senga's return next season.

2. Jack Flaherty, Detroit Tigers

Another potential rental — and maybe the best rental available, at that.

The Detroit Tigers inked Jack Flaherty to a one-year, $14 million contract in free agency. It has been a campaign of redemption for the hard-throwing righty, who bombed in the playoffs for the No. 1 seed Baltimore Orioles a season ago. Flaherty was a trade deadline mover then, too, going from the non-contending St. Louis Cardinals to the contending O's. It did not end well.

He will surely hope to avoid the same fate in 2024, as will the team that inevitably trades for him. All signs point to Flaherty being a changed man, at least in terms of his pitching. He has been absolute aces all season for Detroit, posting a 2.95 ERA and 0.96 WHIP through 18 starts and 106.2 innings. He has 133 strikeouts to his name and a whiff rate (33.2) in the 94th percentile, missing bats with a mid-90s fastball and slippery off-speed stuff.

Flaherty is still smack in the middle of his prime at 28. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting way back in 2019, so there's precedent for this level of success. All the tools are in place; it's a matter of staying healthy and putting up in the postseason, when the lights are cranked up a notch and pressure mounts.

The Mets aren't quite in Baltimore's position, but Flaherty would be counted on to aid a Wild Card push and, potentially, to pitch in the playoffs. Based on his production this season, there's a real argument that Flaherty would be the Mets' No. 1 starter. No matter the role, expectations are increased tenfold in New York and Flaherty would need to meet them, rather than repeating last season's collapse.

If the Mets are confident in his ability to deliver well into autumn, he's a no-brainer target with potential long-term equity if New York decides to hammer out a new contract in the winter.

1. Blake Snell, San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants spent oodles of cash this offseason, but it has been a struggle to mount sustained momentum in the standings. The Giants are trending toward a sell-off at the deadline, which could put their biggest free agent addition — the reigning NL Cy Young winner, Blake Snell — squarely on the chopping block.

Snell comes with complications tied to his injury history and contract. He's due $30 million next season, but he has an opt-out. Depending on how the rest of his season plays out, Snell has the ability to test the free agent waters in search of the long-term megadeal he couldn't land last winter. If the rest of his season goes poorly, well, New York would be on the hook for $30 million guaranteed, with $15 million deferred to 2027.

That is where Steve Cohen's deep pockets come into play. Snell was never truly on the table for New York in the offseason because of their long-term goals and baked-in skepticism about the 2024 roster. But, all that "build for 2025" noise is out the window now. The Mets have a real opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and mount a run this season. As such, taking a swing on Snell is well worth it.

When he's healthy and in-tune, Snell is on the shortlist of the best MLB pitchers. He's a rare double Cy Young winner, claiming one from both leagues, and he historically thrives after the All-Star break. He has a 1.00 ERA in three July starts, including two scoreless outings and only two earned runs allowed across 18.0 innings. After battling through injuries and a compressed ramp-up timeline early in the season (Snell didn't sign in San Francisco until the final week of spring training), the 31-year-old has found his gas, and he's starting to look like the Blake Snell of old.

That Blake Snell would help the Mets immensely in the short term and, ideally, for years to come. This is a prime opportunity for the Mets to get a true ace in the building while his value is at its lowest point. Wait until the offseason and Snell could be much, much more difficult to acquire.