According to former Mets pitcher and SNY analyst Bob Ojeda, trading ace Jacob deGrom is a no-brainer. However, he suggests the Mets don’t stop there.
“You have to be thinking outside the box, trade deGrom and Steven Matz, with deGrom obviously the headliner,” Ojeda said Tuesday, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I am talking a massive deal. I am not talking a 3-for-1 because I don’t think that is enough, but I think a multiple-trade deal is in order and I think it would be fabulous for the organization and I think the Mets fans would embrace it.”
DeGrom, 30, currently leads the majors with a 1.68 ERA and owns a 6.0 bWAR on the campaign. The right-hander was also selected to his second career All-Star game this month.
Matz, 27, has had a career turn around this season, as he registered a 3.38 ERA and 1.7 bWAR going into the break.
Ojeda, a member of the 1986 Mets championship team, says that without trading deGrom, it will be very hard for the Mets to get back into contention quickly.
“The Mets are just in so much need of getting younger, getting position players, getting more athletic,” Ojeda said. “Just speed up the turnaround of the organization.
“I think it’s just a painfully obvious move and you can get a great haul for this kid, because anybody who gets him is going to love him and it’s almost like the Justin Verlander thing like last year, where he’s really going to enhance somebody’s chances to win the whole thing.”
However, Ojeda opines that it might take a mega, three-way deal that includes Matz to get a massive haul.
“A multi-team trade done intelligently, I think would be fascinating and I think that ballpark would start to fill up, because people would say, ‘We’re not sitting on our hands,’ ” Ojeda said.
“They would hate to see deGrom go, but Mets fans are sophisticated, they get it. The club is a long ways away at this point, but a multi-player deal is fascinating. A three-way deal. A simple deGrom trade is not enough.”
