Scouts Believe Mets Have 'Ammo' to Upgrade These Areas of Need

MLB insider Joel Sherman spoke to scouts, who believe the Mets have the proper "ammo" to upgrade in these specific areas of need at the trade deadline.

Jun 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte (6) cools off in the dugout against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports | David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have been seeking bullpen help for over a month, and now could use an upgrade in another specific spot as well.

Right fielder Starling Marte had been having a bounce-back season at the plate until his knee injury knocked him out of action. The recent updates on Marte have been bleak after he underwent another round of imaging last Wednesday. Basically, the Mets do not know when they will have him back, as manager Carlos Mendoza shared with reporters over the weekend.

"Slow still," Mendoza said of Marte's bone bruise. "The imaging shows improvement, like I’ve said, but his recovering is taking a slower pace here. So, we’re not sure when he’ll be back, but we want to make sure he’s pain free when he’s doing all of the activities that he’s doing."

So, not only must the Mets bring in a reliever or two to fix their struggling bullpen, but a corner outfield bat appears to be a necessity too.

The good news for the Mets is that MLB insider Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that scouts/evaluators he has spoken with believe the organization has enough pieces to land both bullpen arms and a corner outfielder in the coming weeks.

"(President of baseball operations David) Stearns’ history in Milwaukee was to improve pens as the season progressed and maybe that is happening with (Jose) Butto and Dedniel Nunez expanding responsibilities. But a serious contender would still go get one or two more, and perhaps a corner-outfield bat — at minimum. And talent evaluators say the Mets have the ammo for that," Sherman wrote in The Post.

Sherman also posed the question of whether the Mets would be willing to move veteran starters such as Jose Quintana, David Peterson or Tylor Megill at the deadline to get back MLB pieces to upgrade their roster.

With the emergence of Mark Vientos and expected return of Ronny Mauricio in 2025, Sherman floated the idea of New York potentially trading former top prospect third baseman Brett Baty, who he feels would draw a solid return despite his big-league struggles. However, Sherman noted how now might not be the time for Stearns to make this move given the injuries and underperformance of the farm system's position player prospects in 2024.

There are a number of relief arms the Mets can target, but in terms of landing an outfielder, that's where things could get tricky as there isn't much out there. Maybe reuniting with old friend Tommy Pham, who is with the Chicago White Sox, could make sense? But after a hot start, Pham has struggled since returning from an ankle sprain in mid-June.