Despite having one of Major League Baseball‘s largest payrolls and going through a massive offseason re-tooling, the New York Mets are one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season.
They entered the second half of the season on Thursday with a 40-57 record that had them at the bottom of the National League East standings and only one win ahead of the Colorado Rockies for the fewest in the National League.
With disappointment and losing comes more changes, especially as the MLB trade deadline (Aug. 3) is fast approaching.
It seems that the Mets are already trying to get out ahead of the trade market and are already open for business.
Mets reportedly tell teams they are open for business
According to a report from SNY on Thursday, a rival executive said the Mets have already made it known that their fire sale is on. And it could be extensive.
The Mets reportedly told teams that the only players not available are Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Christian Scott, Nolan McLean and Juan Soto.
That leaves a pretty extensive list of players who could available, and there are a lot of obvious candidates.
Relief pitchers Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and Luke Weaver figure to be the most likely players to move. Raley and Minter are free agents following the season, while Weaver is signed beyond this season. Weaver’s performance this season, as well as the extra year of team control, could make him a wildly attractive player for contenders.
Starting pitchers Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes could also be options for starter-needy teams.
Peralta has been a massive disappointment, but that might not stop a team given his track record and what a fresh start outside of New York might do for him.
Holmes has been tremendous as a starter since joining the Mets, but the obstacle with him would be the fact he is currently sidelined with an injury.
The biggest name on the Mets, however, is infielder Francisco Lindor. While there is no indication he could be available, moving him would represent a seismic change for the Mets’ short-term and long-term outlook. He is having a miserable season, not only by his standards but also relative to the rest of the league. Entering play on Thursday, he was hitting just .216 with a .671 OPS while accumulating a WAR of just 0.5 for the season.
Even if the Mets wanted to move Lindor, this might be the absolute worst time to do so given how bad his performance has been. You don’t want to trade a cornerstone player at their lowest possible value, get pennies on the dollar back in return and risk having them rebound the following season for somebody else.
The only way it would make sense is if the Mets are convinced that Lindor is finished as an elite player and see an opportunity to get out from the remainder of his contract. But that would be a big (and risky) bet that would likely indicate a far more extensive rebuild than just a losing-season fire sale.