Inside The Mets

Insider's trade deadline declaration could be bad news for Mets

One MLB insider's assessment of the current trade market doesn't bode well for the New York Mets.
Grant Young|
Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In this story:

New York Mets

The New York Mets' recent woes when it comes to left-handed relievers have been well documented to this point.

Since the beginning of May, it has been announced that both A.J. Minter and Danny Young (who were the Mets' only two active southpaw relievers at one point) would each need season-ending surgery. As a result, the Mets added Génesis Cabrera to their big league roster, signed Colin Poche to a minor league deal, and signed Brooks Raley (who will be returning from injury relatively soon) so that they'd have some depth among left-handed relievers.

However, Poche's tough 11.42 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched this season, Cabrera being a minor league player before these aforementioned injuries, and Raley still being injured make it clear that the Mets' southpaw bullpen situation is far from ideal.

Read more: Mets star Juan Soto viewed as 'biggest disappointment' by insider

Therefore, it would have been surprising to hear that the Mets would be active in the trade market to bolster their bullpen. However, New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman poured cold water on this idea in a May 8 article by explaining that there are essentially no lefty relievers who are available on the trade market right now, which seems unlikely to change much by the trade deadline.

This isn't to say there's a shortage of lefty relievers in MLB. Rather, the ones who would make sense as trade candidates are pitching for teams who expect to contend for spots in the playoffs, and therefore won't be sellers at the deadline.

In other words, barring some unexpected change, the Mets will likely need to make it work with the current left-handed relievers they have on their roster.

Recommended Articles

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

Home/News