It wasn’t so long ago, just early last month in fact, when it was fairly obvious that the Mets were preparing for the reality that they had to be trade deadline sellers. The story of their deadline would be the Pete Alonso and Luis Severino sweepstakes, and go get ‘em next year. Again.
We all know what Carlos Mendoza and the Mets players and coaches did after that, forcing their way into the playoff picture. That led to the measured buying approach that began in early July with the deal for reliever Phil Maton.
But the end of this month brought yet another development: Pitchers, even ones with concerns attached like the generally effective but wild Miami reliever Tanner Scott, were fetching top prospects. A back-of-the-rotation starter like Trevor Rogers, another ex-Marlin, also sold to Baltimore for a shockingly high price.
As Yankees GM Brian Cashman put it on Wednesday, “This was probably the most optimal trade deadline in history to be a seller.”
Given that, we wondered if Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns ever wavered on his buying approach, and was tempted to cash in. After all, he could have significantly improved the farm system by trading Severino alone, not to mention Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea.
“The answer is no,” Stearns told me on Wednesday morning. “Once we got to this point where we were in playoff position, and it was very clear that this was a playoff-caliber team, we never thought about moving a starter this week.”
Good for him. This is a prime example of how the rational move is not always the best one. The Mets are trying to build a winning culture, earning credibility both with their fans and inside their clubhouse as a team on the rise. They already suffered a setback to that particular goal by playing meaningless baseball last August and September.
Inside Citi Field on Tuesday evening, morale was high. People at all levels of the organization were impressed by Stearns’ measured approach to improving the roster without mortgaging the future by paying what one exec over the weekend called “insane prices.”
Morale, or at least Sal Licata’s morale, could have been even higher had they acquired a Blake Snell or even a Jameson Taillon. But as we reported on Monday night, San Francisco wanted a top prospect of their choice plus significant salary relief for a Snell rental (he has a player option for the 2025 season). The Cubs were having conversations with teams about Taillon until the deadline but also wanted both prospects and cash.
One could make an argument that it’s worth giving up, say, an exciting prospect like Jett Williams, to rent an ace and try to win the World Series. It certainly is at times (for example, maybe the Yankees should have traded outfield prospect Spencer Jones, who was available in the right deal yesterday, for a Dylan Cease or Corbin Burns last winter), but these Mets are in year one of what they expect will be an extended competitive window.
Stearns and his front office group made a significant adjustment by reacting to the development on the field and keeping the roster together for another two to three months. They even raised the floor by addressing needs in the bullpen, back of the rotation, and outfield/bench.
The view from here is that the real story of the Mets’ trade deadline is that the team earned a chance to keep playing. If it ends on the outside of the Wild Card standings or a quick October exit, it will still be the right strategy.
Citi Field, which certainly does pop when the baseball is good, could use a few more months of meaningful games. This year, that’s more valuable than, say, two good Orioles prospects for Severino.
Source Agencies
