What New York Mets Must Avoid at Trade Deadline
It's no secret that the New York Mets will be highly active ahead of this year's trade deadline.
But according to team president Sandy Alderson, here's what the club must avoid when surveying the market for potential roster upgrades.
“I have great confidence in Billy (Eppler, GM) and his baseball staff," Alderson told MLB Network Radio. "And to date, they’ve made a number of very good decisions. None of us ever hits 100%. So if we get to the deadline, however, it’s not just a matter of making baseball decisions, but it’s balancing short term for long term, and we’ve got some very good prospects, four or five of them, probably everybody will be asking for those. And we’ve got to be very careful. We gave up a good prospect last year and he’s doing very well this year for the Cubs. So it will be kind of a joint conversation. I have been and will continue to be pretty deferential to Billy and his staff.”
Last season, the Mets' big trade at the deadline was acquiring Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez in exchange for 2020 first round draft pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. As a result, the Mets missed out on the postseason and Baez left in free agency after the season concluded. Now, Crow-Armstrong is thriving in the minors this season, posting a .934 OPS, nine home runs and 31 RBIs across low and high A ball.
The Mets are destined to target a high-leverage bullpen arm and a right-handed power bat to complement star first baseman Pete Alonso. However, teams will likely be asking about the availability of top prospects: Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos. New York appears unwilling to part with any of these young promising position players.
Eppler and staff will attempt to utilize their prospect depth as trade chips to upgrade their roster, without hurting the team's long-term future in the process. Time will determine whether they're able to land the necessary upgrades needed to help put the Mets over the top as World Series contenders in 2022.
During Alderson's tenure as GM of the Mets (2011 through 2018), teams often asked for the club's best prospects due to the strength of the organization's farm system. Alderson was able to acquire big slugger Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers at the 2015 trade deadline in exchange for Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. This move helped the Mets reach the World Series in '15.
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