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On Thursday afternoon, the New York Mets announced that Max Scherzer would be out for the next 6-8 weeks with an oblique strain. This could not come at a worse time, as Jacob deGrom and Tylor Megill were already on the injured list. With three starters now out of the rotation, the team could turn to the trade market for a starter with MLB experience.

While trades in May for significant pieces are rare, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Mets have scouted Frankie Montas and Tyler Mahle,

Who are some potential options the Mets could add in the coming months?

RHP Frankie Montas, Oakland Athletics 

Frankie Montas is someone that the Mets have already made calls about in the past. The organization had interest in acquiring the 29-year-old starting pitcher in the offseason, but a deal never came to fruition. The Mets and the Athletics were able to get a deal done though, one that included starting pitcher Chris Bassitt going to New York. That is certainly something to keep in mind as the Mets look to add to their rotation. 

In eight starts, Montas is 2-4 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.020 WHIP in 49 innings of work in 2022. His most productive year in the majors was last season, where he finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting after going 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 32 starts. Prior to 2021, Montas had never thrown more than 96 innings in a season.

The pitch Montas is using most frequently this season is his splitter. He has used that pitch 28.1 percent of the time in 2022, as hitters only have a batting average of .111 against the splitter. Montas also has a four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and cutter in his pitch mix.

Montas may be the best starting pitcher available when it becomes time to make a trade, but it may take a major return in assets to lure Oakland into making a deal. He could still have another year of control after this season, as the right-handed starter would become a free agent after the 2023 season. Adding Montas to the Mets rotation would be great, but you have to wonder if the organization would be willing to part ways with the level of prospects needed in order to get him. The Athletics are in a rebuild, so he will likely be traded at some point in 2022. The question is whether or not the Mets will really go after Montas in the trade market. 

RHP Tyler Mahle, Cincinnati Reds

Tyler Mahle is another guy the Mets have talked about acquiring in the past. The 27-year-old pitcher has spent his entire career in the Reds organization. In nine starts, Mahle is 2-4 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.349 WHIP in 43 innings of work this season. He had the best season of his career in 2021, when he made 33 starts, going 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA in 180 innings of work.

The right-handed starter has a four pitch mix, but only uses his four-seam fastball (49.8 percent) and splitter (26.1 percent) at least 20 percent of the time. He also has a slider and cutter that he goes to as his more secondary pitches. Mahle is not a hard-thrower, especially when you compare his fastball velocity (93.5 MPH) to the rest of the league.

Still, his 9.2 strikeouts per nine is in the top third among starting pitchers –right above Chris Bassitt’s 9.1. Mahle has pitched better than his 5.23 ERA would indicate, with his expected ERA being a much nicer 3.64.

Like Montas, Mahle will become a free agent after the 2023 season. Acquiring Mahle seems like a much more realistic option for the Mets compared to other starting pitchers in the market. With the Reds looking more towards the future, it seems like the organization is willing to trade their most valuable players at the major league level. If a deal were to get done with the Mets, the team would be adding a guy in Mahle that will go out there every fifth day, and give them the innings they do desperately need. This is a deal I could see happening closer towards the trade deadline.

RHP Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds

Luis Castillo is a starting pitcher than has gained a ton of interest within the trade market since the beginning of the offseason. Teams had been making calls to the Reds about him, but a deal was never finalized. Now that the Mets need help in their rotation, is Castillo someone they can target?

In two starts, the right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.138 WHIP in 9 2/3 innings of work. Castillo began the season on the shelf with a shoulder injury, and was not able to make his season debut until May 9th against the Milwaukee Brewers. His best year came in 2019, when the starter was 15-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 32 starts, making the All-Star team along the way.

The 29-year-old is most known for his changeup, as he has been considered to have one of better variations of it. Over the past three seasons, the changeup has been his most used pitch. The starting pitcher also has a sinker, four-seam fastball and slider in his repertoire.

Injuries have not been a concern for him in the past, as the starting pitcher has made at least 31 starts in each of the last three full seasons. Castillo still has his third and final year of arbitration, so it may be until 2024 before he hits free agency. As mentioned before with Mahle, the Reds are heading towards a full rebuild. If the Mets are not concerned about the shoulder injury he had earlier this year, Castillo is a guy that should definitely target.

LHP Madison Bumgarner, Arizona Diamondbacks 

Madison Bumgarner is one wild card that could potentially be an option for the Mets as they look for starting pitching. The 32-year-old pitcher has lost a lot of velocity over the years, but he is back to being a much more effective pitcher in 2022. In eight starts, Bumgarner is 2-2 with a 2.29 ERA and a 1.189 WHIP in 35 1/3 innings of work. 

A major difference with Bumgarner is his usage of the cutter this season. In 2022, the left-hander is throwing that pitch 50 percent of the time. In comparison, while the cutter was his most used pitch last season, it was only 34.3 percent. Bumgarner also goes to his four-seam fastball, curveball, and a occasional changeup and sinker. 

The availability of Bumgarner and/or any other Diamondbacks starter depends on what the organization thinks about their team in 2022. Arizona is 19-21, which is good enough for last in the National League West. If the team believes they can make a push for a Wild Card place at the end of the year, Bumgarner probably is not going anywhere. In the same way, if the Diamondbacks begin to fall out of contention, moving an expiring contract like Bumgarner’s makes a ton of sense. The latter could provide an option for the Mets, but it will all depend on the success of the Diamondbacks over the next few months.