Who Could Mets Trade At Deadline If They Continue to Falter?

The New York Mets came into the year as perceived contenders following a 101-win campaign in 2022 and an offseason that saw their payroll skyrocket to over $350 million, by far the largest total in the league. However, a number of different factors have compounded and left the Mets in an unfortunate position as they sit six games below .500 with a 34-40 record in late June and have shown few signs of turning it around. As a result, if the team continues to falter, the Mets should look at what veterans they could trade at the deadline this year.

With that, let’s take a closer look at the pieces the Mets could ship off over the next month-and-a-half if they can’t figure things out.

David Robertson, RP

David Robertson has been everything the Mets envisioned and more after they signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract in early December. He became the de facto closer late in spring training after Edwin Díaz went down with a season-ending injury and has answered the bell every step of the way, pitching to a 1.72 ERA and 2.92 FIP to go with ten saves and a 0.8 fWAR across 28 appearances so far this season.

Robertson is no stranger to being dealt at the deadline, as he was traded alongside Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle from the Chicago White Sox to the New York Yankees in 2017 and from the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies just last year. The 38-year-old will be among the top rental bullpen options for contenders due to his recent success as well as his overall experience, as he has tallied 167 saves across his career while also owning a 2.78 ERA across 41 career postseason appearances as well.

Tommy Pham, OF

Tommy Pham has been perhaps the Mets’ most pleasant surprise of the 2023 season thus far. After signing a one-year, $6 million deal in January, he has slashed .260/.335/.486 to go with seven home runs and a 125 wRC+ through 53 games. Despite being brought on as a platoon option against lefties, Pham has made it impossible to take him out of the everyday lineup due to his .273/.345/.494 slash line and 131 wRC+ against righties as well as his 1.004 OPS in June.

Pham is coming off of a down stretch from 2020 to 2022, where he hit .231/.324/.372 with a 1.7 fWAR and 93 OPS+ across 330 games. However, his resurgence is no fluke, as evidenced by his advanced metrics, plus his value will likely be aided as a result of a weaker crop of rental bats available at the deadline. Pham, who has a .931 career OPS in the playoffs across 56 plate appearances, has been involved in several trades over the past few years as he was dealt from the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2020 season before being flipped by the Cincinnati Reds to the Boston Red Sox at last year’s deadline.

Mark Canha, OF

Mark Canha signed a two-year, $26.5 million deal with the Mets shortly before the lockout in 2021 and was an indispensable piece of the team’s offense in 2022, slashing .266/.367/.403 with a 128 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR. This season has been a bit wonky for him, though, as he struggled out of the gates in March and April before turning it around in May and June. However, his playing time has become slightly scarcer following Pham’s emergence, and his power stroke has seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Canha, who has slashed .247/.338/.395 this season is an obvious trade candidate for the Mets due to his long track record of success and ability to hit both righties and lefties at an above-average rate. There are question marks with Canha’s game regarding his defense and below-average quality of contact, but much like is the case with Pham, his value will naturally be inflated due to a subpar pool of available outfielders at the deadline. He isn’t a pure rental, as he carries a club option at just over $12 million for the 2024 season, but that shouldn’t affect his market in any tangible manner.

Adam Ottavino, RP

Adam Ottavino came over to the Mets on a one-year deal in 2022 and was one of the brightest spots on a team filled with them as he pitched to a 2.06 ERA and 2.85 FIP to go with a 1.1 fWAR across 66 games as the team’s set-up man. He re-signed with New York on a two-year, $14.5 million deal this off-season and has been somewhat of a mixed bag thus far as he currently owns a 3.86 ERA along with a 4.46 FIP, 3.76 xFIP and -0.1 fWAR across 32 appearances.

Ottavino’s case is an interesting one as the deadline approaches, as his $6.75 million player option for 2024 could scare off teams. Regardless, Ottavino has proven himself to be a reliable, and sometimes dominant, workhorse at the backend of the bullpen and could very well be highly sought after. Another factor that could entice potential buyers is that he has remedied his longstanding control issues, as his 2.3 BB/9 rate as a Met is a vast improvement from the 5.2 BB/9 total that he put up from 2017 to 2021.

The Mets have several other potential trade candidates on the roster, although they don’t profile as favorably for a variety of reasons. Carlos Carrasco and Daniel Vogelbach are both scheduled to hit free agency following the 2023 season, but it’s increasingly hard to see a world where either is moved due to their individual struggles while Carrasco is also owed a significant amount of money for a rental the rest of the way. Pete Alonso has just a year left under contract after this season, but there’s no world in which he is dealt. Brooks Raley has a club option for 2024, and it would appear that bringing him back next season would make the most sense for the Mets. Omar Narváez and Eduardo Escobar both have options for 2024 as well, but neither has much of a trade market to speak of.

The Mets, despite their exorbitant payroll, are in a tough situation as of right now and may be forced into selling off several key pieces of the roster at the deadline after having sky-high expectations coming into the season.