The Mets are caught in a pickle. With the MLB trade deadline approaching on August 1, Billy Eppler and Steve Cohen will have some tough decisions to mull over. The Mets currently stand seven games back for the final Wild Card spot. How will the Mets’ front office approach this year’s deadline?

Let’s take a look back at the last trade deadline. The Mets brought in the likes of Daniel Vogelbach, Tyler Naquin, Mychal Givens and Darin Ruf…yikes! At the time they were looked at marginal moves to help bolster a ready-to-win roster; a roster that finished with 101 wins in 2022. Clearly, these moves did not make the positive impact they had hoped for, with the exception of Vogelbach having a strong 55 games last season.

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Now back to the present state of the 2023 New York Metropolitans…

This season has gone sideways for Buck Showalter and the front office. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have not lived up to expectations, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil are in career-worst slumps, and their bullpen has not played up to snuff. You can twist your brain, follow your Mets fandom and love for the team, and attempt to convince yourself the Mets will be buyers for a late push this season. That would likely be a huge mistake. Giving up prospects, no matter where they rank in MLB’s prospect list, will note bode well for the Mets. This team has looked like a shell of their 2022 selves, and they haven’t shown much to be hopeful for.

The Mets should be sellers at the deadline unless they run through the Yankees and Nationals in the next week. Even if they accomplished to win-out July, they are still hovering around the .500 mark. It’s not enough to go out there and make big-name splashes, or trade guys like Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio for a veteran. If they do make up ground, you can make the case they should stand pat and see how the rest of the season plays out in the hopes of catching the Giants, Phillies and/or Marlins. After all this is the highest payroll in MLB history. It wouldn’t be completely out of reality to see them turn things around, but we are in the 12th hour now. There’s just over one week for this potential, although unlikely, turnaround.

The Mets did swing a trade for reliever Trevor Gott at the beginning of July. In a small sample size it has not gone great for Gott. Any potential additions to the squad would look similar to the move that got Gott. Players that are either on expiring contracts, or players that would mainly cost Steve Cohen to eat their salary without giving up young talent. I don’t see a big move happening at this year’s deadline for the Mets, it just wouldn’t add up.

If the Mets decide to be sellers, there will be plenty of names that will circulate the rumor mill. You would have to believe that Tommy Pham, David Robertson, Daniel Vogelbach, Mark Canha, Omar Narváez and José Quintana would be made available for inquiring teams. That’s not to say they’ll all be wearing different uniforms come August 2, but they are all likely to be on the table.

Pham and Robertson should be the most sought after names the Mets have to offer. Robertson is a savvy veteran who could easily bolster a contending teams backend of the bullpen. It would not surprise me if an American League team such as the Rays, Twins, Astros, Red Sox or even the Yankees made an effort to bring him in.

Pham could be useful for many different teams. He has hit well against both right-handed and left-handed pitching, with the capability to play all three outfield positions. With his expiring deal, and fairly low salary left on the books, he is in play for any team that could use a bat. A team to keep an eye on is the Milwaukee Brewers, who currently sit in first place of the NL Central. They could definitely use another bat in the outfield. Jesse Winker has looked lost at the plate all season and rookie Blake Perkins is currently hitting .214 with a .616 OPS. The San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins are two other clubs that could use a right-handed hitter.

Max Scherzer is another name, the biggest name that has been floated around in trade rumors. If the Mets are open to dealing him at the deadline, you would think they either want a highly-touted prospect in return where Cohen eats a a portion of his remaining salary, or you trade him for lower level prospects and have the acquiring team take on a bulk of his remaining contract. If Verlander is made available you would apply the same logic, but that seems more unlikely than Scherzer being dealt.

Eppler and Cohen have some decisions to make, and only have a matter of days to decide. It has been an extremely disappointing season for this team that had sky-high expectations coming into Spring Training. We will have the answers very soon.