Palladino: Mets Deadline Trade May Not Be Worth The Effort
By Ernie Palladino
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As MLB's July 31 trade deadline creeps ever closer, Sandy Alderson remains quiet.
If there is a blockbuster trade that will cure the anemia that is the Mets' lineup, it's entirely possible Alderson is looking for that bat at some holy shrine, not among the rosters of their National and American League counterparts. It may take that kind of miracle to procure anyone with hitting potential for a reasonable price.
But what is the price? Better yet, should the Mets even bother to try?
That second question is the biggest one. Alderson finds his again-slumping team four games above .500 and two games off Washington's division lead. While they remain solidly in the race for the last wild card spot after Sunday's win over the Cardinals, it all looks like a mirage that is about to vanish into the dunes when one looks at the overall performance of the first three post All-Star break games.
The lack of offense -- it's usually the hitting with this team -- cost Noah Syndergaard a win after seven strong innings of two-run ball Friday. And then on Saturday, Bartolo Colon's collapse and -- wait for it -- the hitting woes combined Saturday to send the Mets to a 12-2 defeat.
Need anyone be reminded of the franchise record-tying 25 left on base as they barely avoided the sweep in Sunday's 3-1, 18-inning affair?
Considering they have seven games left in this current stretch against the NL East-leading Nationals and NL West top dog Dodgers, the Mets' division standing and playoff possibilities could look very different by next Monday's off day.
By then, it may not be worth it for Alderson to go after one of the Cubs' shortstops or Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt, as one media voice recently suggested. Aside from the fact that the Diamondbacks would be stark raving mad to give up a talent like Goldschmidt, the price for any buyer goes up proportional to the proximity to the trade deadline.
If Alderson thinks he'd overpay now for someone who even looks like he can drive in a runner from second or third, he'll have to really go for the lungs if he waits to the last minute. With most teams in wait-and-see mode, that could mean sending away a Jacob deGrom or Syndergaard in a desperate bid to save what in all likelihood will become a ninth consecutive season out of the playoffs.
He'll probably have to take on salary, too. The young Mets' arms don't make an awful lot of dough. DeGrom makes $557,000. Zack Wheeler made $546,000 in a year he didn't pitch, and won't make significantly more when he returns next season from Tommy John surgery.
Matt Harvey? He's at $614K. And Syndergaard is just over $400,000.
The magic bat, if there even is one to transform the league's worst group in runs scored, batting average, and OPS into something that looks like a major league lineup, is going to come far more expensive than those numbers.
One wonders whether the Wilpon ownership will swallow hard enough to bet those bucks on a long shot.
Probably not.
The windup to all this is that no one should be surprised if Alderson never does pull the trigger on a deal. He may well wait until the winter, where the promises of a better 2016 will bring another Michael Cuddyer or some other middling free agent.
Unless Alderson sees a target that can thrive in the lineup for the next several years, it may not be worth it to make a deadline move.
Especially if things really go south over the next week.
