David Stearns and Steve Cohen’s confidence that the New York Mets would be competing for a playoff spot seems awfully hollow already.
At the start of June, the Mets are 11 games under .500 entering a three-game set with the Washington Nationals on Monday.
Their offense is below the league average, scoring 4.2 runs per game this season. The starting rotation has not been consistent enough in the absence of Kodai Senga and the bullpen has been in shambles, blowing six leads in which the Mets were ahead in the eighth inning.
As another postseason-less season appears to be in the cards already, the rumor mill is already in full swing. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Mets “could be the epicenter of the trade deadline with a handful of their prized players expected to be dealt.”
Amongst those “prized players” include key players on expiring deals, most notably Pete Alonso, JD Martinez, and Luis Severino.
Alonso’s future with the Mets has been at the forefront of outside concern since last season as the former regime headed by Billy Eppler saw a seven-year, $158 million extension turned down by the slugging first baseman.
Stearns has sung Alonso’s praises since taking over president of baseball operations in October but made it clear that if extension talks were to be had, they would not heat up until the end of the 2024 season before he hits free agency.
With the Mets appearing as though they will go nowhere for the rest of the campaign, calls are expected to roll for a potential deal for Alonso, who has hit the most home runs in Major League Baseball since his debut in 2019. Dealing him would allow Stearns to bring in more young talent to bolster the farm system while opening up the dollars to make a run at a big-name free agent that would be seen as “his guy.”
Severino has boosted his value exponentially since signing a one-year deal with the Mets this winter. After coming off a career-worst campaign with the Yankees that was derailed by pitch-tipping problems and injuries, the veteran right-hander has a 3.52 ERA in 11 starts this season — more than three runs fewer than his ERA in 2023.
Martinez has been rounding into form after his Mets debut was delayed due to his late signing and a lingering back problem. In 33 games, he has an .812 OPS with five home runs and 15 RBI.
Pitchers Sean Manaea and Adam Ottavino along with veteran outfielder Starling Marte are perceived as other potential trade pieces.
