Mets' Wilpon Hints At Trade Sooner Rather Than Later
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Mets need help now and can't afford to wait until the trade deadline to acquire a big bat, team COO Jeff Wilpon said Monday.
"I think we might need to do something before then because the deadline's still four, six weeks away," Wilpon told reporters Monday at a fundraiser for the group Harlem RBI. "We've got to start playing better baseball now."
The Mets have lost six of their last eight games and were swept over the weekend by the Atlanta Braves, who own the National League's worst record. New York (36-32) trails Washington by 5½ games and is currently tied with the Marlins for the second wild-card spot.
"Of course we're concerned," Wilpon said. "Nobody's happy with the way we're playing. And I meet with (general manager) Sandy (Alderson), (manager) Terry (Collins) and (assistant general manager) John Ricco all the time, and they're working on things to try and get us to where we need to go and start playing a little bit better."
The Mets' biggest problems have been injuries and their lack of offense. David Wright, Lucas Duda, Juan Lagares and Travis d'Arnaud are all on the disabled list. Meanwhile, the team is batting .234 -- which ranks 29th of 30 teams -- and is 28th in runs scored.
"Guys haven't hit," Wilpon said. "I can't tell you why or what the reason is, but they haven't hit."
Some possible trade targets include Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Oakland A's third baseman Danny Valencia and Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, but he might be released soon after being designated for assignment last week. The Mets could also try to sign highly touted Cuban free agent infielder Yulieski Gourriel.
Wilpon's comments echoed the sentiment expressed by Collins following the Braves sweep when the manager said, "We are going to shake some things up."
