The Mets needed to come out on the other side of the All-Star break with a statement. That didn’t happen.
After losing two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the sentiment that the Mets will be sellers at Major League Baseball’s Aug. 1 trade deadline has only strengthened. Their divisional situation is in shambles sitting in fourth place and 18.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
Their Wild Card situation isn’t much better with 8.5 games and four teams separating them from the final NL berth — and so the writing is on the wall that Steve Cohen is going to be a seller.
Mets general manager Billy Eppler on Friday admitted that he is already getting calls. Manager Buck Showalter is manipulating the starting rotation’s order to ensure that Justin Verlander gets two starts before the trade deadline.
That’s two more chances to bump up the veteran right-hander’s trade value, though the previous two decades of a Hall-of-Fame career will do more of the talking for a playoff contender in need of a bump.
It’s an almost unthinkable notion that the Mets could potentially be trading Verlander after half a season in Queens and Max Scherzer — another veteran righty destined for Cooperstown.
But Verlander has been pedestrian following a Cy Young-winning campaign in 2022 with the Houston Astros. He missed the first month of the season with a shoulder injury and has gone 3-5 with a 3.72 ERA in the 13 starts since his team debut. He lost just four games last year.
Scherzer’s second season with the Mets hasn’t been much easier. He was ripped for five runs on six this in five innings last week against the San Diego Padres, but rebounded on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers with seven scoreless innings and just one hit allowed. But his season ERA after 17 starts is still at a 3.99.
Regardless, they’re the two most valuable trade chips for Cohen, Eppler, and the Mets ahead of the deadline even if their value has been diminished through performance, their no-trade clauses, their contracts (both making over $43 million annually), and their age. Verlander is 40 while Scherzer turns 39 next week on July 27.
But Cohen has already shown a willingness to eat money to not only facilitate a trade but to enhance the Mets’ return. He did so with the dealing of Eduardo Escobar to the Los Angeles Angels which yielded two pitching prospects and will likely have to do the same with either starter to give the Mets a chance at building up a thin farm system — especially in the pitching department.
It shouldn’t be much of an issue enticing either Verlander or Scherzer to waive their no-trade clause, either, considering their time to play for a legitimate contender is running out in both of their careers. Other players on expiring deals like Mark Canha, David Robertson, and Tommy Pham have become prime trade pieces, as well.
But moving either starter will be the admission of what has been abundantly clear for the last two months: The Mets’ record-payroll-breaking experiment was a failure. But it’s looking like it is more of a necessity to ensure the organization can properly move forward in 2024 and beyond.
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