The Mets aren’t expecting a significant building block like a Carlos Gonzalez-type outfielder to land in their laps before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
“I don’t think that’s something for right now,” a club official said yesterday. “That’s probably something more for the offseason.”
It likely means that for a third straight year under general manager Sandy Alderson, the Mets will be sellers heading to the deadline despite what the GM has said publicly.
Puma includes Marlon Byrd, Daniel Murphy, Dillon Gee, Jeremy Hefner and Bobby Parnell as this year’s pool of potential trade bait, but says that they would have to part with pitching prospects Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard if they were serious about adding the kind of high-impact outfielder the team covets.
As recently as early June, Alderson said his priority was to add a significant major league bat that would help the team in the short and long term. However, he may have well been referring to Eric Young Jr. who he acquired off the scrap heap a week later.
While many suspect that this offseason will see the Mets reinvest the approximate $40 million freed up by the Jason Bay and Johan Santana contracts, I doubt they even add half of that back into the payroll. The same things were said about reinvesting the Jose Reyes money and the millions David Wright deferred to help add players and it never happened.
If they do move Parnell, Gee, Hefner, Murphy and Byrd for more minor leaguers, they have nobody in house to replace any of their production at the major league level. You may as well move the window for contention from 2014 to probably 2016 or further along.
