Where New York Mets' Roster Needs Stand With Trade Deadline Looming
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WASHINGTON - With MLB's trade deadline coming to a halt at 6 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, August 2, the Mets are working the phones trying to address the remainder of their roster needs.
Their main areas of focus include DH, catcher and one if not multiple relief arms.
Names such as first baseman/DH Trey Mancini and catcher Christian Vazquez are off the board, both of whom were once possibilities for the Mets, before getting swiped up by the mighty Houston Astros.
So with the big day approaching, here's where things currently stand:
The Mets are in on catcher/DH Willson Contreras and reliever David Robertson.
This appears to be a move that's a fit for both sides, given the market for Contreras hasn't been robust, plus the fact that the Astros bowed out of the sweepstakes after landing Vazquez.
One competitor to watch is the San Diego Padres, who if they don't get Juan Soto, could pivot to Contreras and have the ambition and prospect capital to land the catcher that swings a big stick.
Cubs' Ian Happ is also available and could make sense if the Mets are able to find room for the versatile outfielder and All-Star.
With a Contreras-Robertson package looking like the biggest impact deal the Mets could make, Boston Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez is also of interest. The Mets have been in talks with the Red Sox about Martinez, whose initial asking price for the slugger was a Top-five prospect, a major league player and another piece or cash, as reported by Inside the Mets on Sunday evening. For that, the two sides still remain apart.
Martinez is dealing with back spasms, is a 34-year-old rental player and is having a poor year offensively. Not to mention, he is strictly a DH, who is a health question mark. It's also hard to envision a scenario, in which Martinez and Daniel Vogelbach are on the same roster, given they're not two-way players. The Dodgers are another team that likes Martinez
While It's difficult to see Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo dealing first baseman/DH Josh Bell to a division rival, the Mets made an offer of two prospects that were not in the top-six in their farm system, as late as eight days ago. Bell was initially looked at as a strong fit with the Astros, who instead went in a different direction. Bell is someone to keep an eye on, should his market not play out tomorrow as expected before the deadline.
With Vazquez off the board, the Mets can continue to explore an upgrade at catcher and there could be a fit with Oakland Athletics' backstop Sean Murphy (1.8 bWAR, .737 OPS, 113 OPS+, 12 home runs, 41 RBI), who is available and would be a nice offensive complement to framing whiz Tomas Nido.
On the relief pitching market, the Mets have certainly done their due diligence on this front. Even if they land Robertson, they could still potentially land Detroit Tigers lefty Andrew Chafin, who is of interest, as his current teammate and former Mets top prospect Michael Fulmer (per SNY).
With 18 1/2 hours until the deadline, the Mets need an impact bat, whether that comes at DH or catcher or a player that can do both (Contreras), as well as multiple relievers.
They currently don't appear to be close with the Cubs or Red Sox, but things could change later tonight or tomorrow morning on one of these fronts.
Read More:
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- Shohei Ohtani Unlikely to be Dealt, Mets Remain Intrigued
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