New York Mets Miss Big Catch Deadline Move, But Add Productive Reinforcements

WASHINGTON - In the words of legendary NBA commentator Mike Breen when he bellows his famous missed shot call at the buzzer during a basketball game: "No Good!"

That's how the general consensus of Mets fans likely felt after they watched time run out on Major League Baseball's trade deadline as the clock ticked forward to 6 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, August 2.

Although trades can sometimes be announced after a hard stop at six, if they're still being "finalized" or yet to have been leaked, the Mets would not hit a buzzer beater and that's when reality set in: All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, who they'd been in trade talks with the Chicago Cubs with on again and off again for the course of the past week-plus, would be staying in the windy city.

So in a shocking turn of events, which some around the game might guess could have been an ownership decision (unknown), as opposed to a baseball one, given the Cubs held onto two players, Contreras and fellow All-Star Ian Happ, despite the substantial probability that both players will bolt in free agency. Cubs will have to take a compensation draft pick as opposed to prospects for one or both players.

But don't let your disappointment regarding a missed chance of making a big splash fool you, the Mets did get better in a few ways.

They added a right-handed platoon bat that can DH and play first base in Darin Ruf, who posted an .886 OPS with the San Francisco Giants, before arriving in a deal that sent J.D. Davis back to his home state of California, along with three prospects, including Thomas Szapucki. Ruf is expected to play first base on days, in which Pete Alonso serves as DH against righties.

While the acquisition of Ruff wasn't as impactful as landing a Contreras, or J.D. Martinez, who they were also in talks with the Boston Red Sox about, it was just what the doctor ordered, or in this case GM Billy Eppler, as a help to manager Buck Showalter.

The Mets can now field a complete and versatile team, with a multitude of different options each day. They essentially "robbed Peter to pay Paul" in Eppler's words in terms of acquiring DH Daniel Vogelbach on July, who mashes righties. Mets had to send promising rookie reliever Colin Holderman to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Vogelbach.

Coincidentally, Vogelbach hit his first Vogel-bomb as a Met, which came via a grand slam against the Washington Nationals in D.C. on Wednesday, giving his team a six-run lead to further increase their win probability on the day.

💥 GRAND SLAM DANIEL VOGELBACH! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Qi5noABT6r
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 3, 2022

Versatile left-handed corner outfielder and right-handed pitching masher, Tyler Naquin, was another minor, but strategic pickup for the Mets, as it gave them the flexibility to allow a platoon at third base between Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar.

So upon further review, It doesn't appear that Eppler's first deadline as Mets GM big splash piece meant he had to scramble to pick up the pieces. Instead, the Mets took an outside the box plan B in case they couldn't get rental bats, Contreras or Martinez, whose price tags never dropped out of the Top-five prospect range plus additional pieces. He also wasn't banking on Cubs GM Jed Hoyer or Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom folding or bluffing, given both teams would rather receive nothing unless their price was met. Bold moves in different cities, but risky when you look ahead into the future.

The Mets' defense has also been sharp all year and their recent moves, or non-moves, makes the rich even richer, especially at important spots up the middle: catcher (Tomas Nido and James McCann, who will return from IL on Thursday), shortstop (Francisco Lindor), second base (Jeff McNeil) and in centerfield (Brandon Nimmo). These are important positions of above average options to complement a strong pitching staff that just got their other co-ace Jacob deGrom, five innings of 1-run ball, back on Tuesday after a year-plus stint on the shelf.

The Mets probably could've used another bullpen arm, such as lefty reliever Andrew Chafin, who they were in on prior to the deadline, but couldn't agree on player swaps, per Andy Martino of SNY. They still came away with a a solid righty from the Cubs, Mychal Givens, who has a 2.66 ERA and has held left-handed batters to a .222 average and righties to a .213 average this year. He also played for Showalter with the Baltimore Orioles from 2015 to 2018. The Mets also got Trevor May back from the injured list on August 3 and are hoping he can be relied on as a high-leverage pen arm once more since he is now healthy.

In the end, time will tell if the Mets did enough to seriously compete for a World Series title in 2022 with the San Diego Padres, who got Juan Soto and Josh Bell, a Yankees team that landed Frankie Montas, Andrew Benintendi, Lou Trivino and Harrison Bader, or the mighty Houston Astros, a destination spot for Christian Vazquez and Trey Mancini.

Mets and Dodgers made small moves, Los Angeles got now ex-Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo, who had a very rough go of things during his year stint in the Bronx, while the Mets made some outside the box moves that could have sneaky impact.

Joey Gallo to Dodgers for Beeter per sources pending medical
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) August 2, 2022

“I tend to really focus and make everything about us and if we do that we will be in good shape," Eppler said after the deadline. "It stands out that we were able to make our club better today both offensively and on the run prevention side. We made the moves we felt were best for this organization."

Eppler and the Mets felt they got better, and that seems like a likely calculation. The question is now whether it will be enough or not in the coming months.

- Mets Acquire Right-Hander Mychal Givens From Chicago Cubs

- Mets Acquire Darin Ruf From Giants For J.D. Davis, Prospects

- Mets Have Possible big Plans for Brandon Nimmo Beyond '22

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

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