Are the Recent New York Mets Trades the Right Moves?
In 2018, the New York Mets were off to a good start. After a dozen games, they were at the top of the MLB.
But things quickly came back to normal. The lack of offence, combined with the team’s poor bullpen, saw the Mets drown as it was predicted. The rotation was the only good aspect of the team with, obviously, Jacob deGrom at its head.
That’s where the Mets stood a few weeks ago when Brodie Van Wagenen was appointed the team’s new general manager. He looked at New York’s poor roster and decided that he had the resources to build a team that could beat the Phillies, the Braves and the Nationals in the NL East next season.
That’s probably what led to the call to Jerry Dipoto, the man who decided that the Mariners were not built to make the playoffs. Van Wagenen was looking for a player that could give life to his offensive lineup and an elite reliever to act as the team’s closer. That’s exactly what he got when Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz were traded by the Mariners.
But it was a poor decision to make.
The Direction of the Organization
The acquisition of a 36-year old player and his enormous contract (he is owed $120 million over the next five years) is not a smart move for an organization who does not have the tools to make it through its division. It goes the same way for a closer as good as Diaz. You need to lead a game to be able to save it.
The Mets paid a lot in terms of prospects to acquire some tools that will not lead them to the top of the division. If Mike Trout alone cannot bring the Angels to the postseason, Cano cannot do it either.
The problem is that the Mets got engaged in the way of ‘winning now’. They will have to make more trades to make sure that they have a competitive team that can outright win the NL East.
That is why a pitcher like Corey Kluber is on the radar of the Mets. Van Wagenen is aware that the NL East is full of good pitchers and he wants to strengthen his rotation. It will cost him more prospects that they will need to rebuild in three or four years when this push to the playoffs does not work.
This also implies that some more position players will have to be acquired in order to support Cano. It will cost the Mets even more prospects, except if they trade Noah Syndergaard for others. However, if they trade Syndergaard, Van Wagenen will weaken the biggest asset of his team.
There is no solution to bring back the team at the top because there are too many obstacles in the way. The Mets are taking the wrong path.
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