Storyline: Sandy Alderson might be reluctant to trade a guy like Dominic Smith (arguably the top prospect in the system ), but trading him for either Chris Archer and Matt Moore (both with the Rays) makes sense.
Were you one of those people that believed in the NY Mets as contenders this year?
Well, I surely was, but they’ve been nothing but that this season. So far they’re 48-42, 7 games back of the Nationals in the NL East. They’re underachieving considering how good they were last year and how promising they looked to be this year.
Courtesy: Thenationalherald.com
I expected this young rotation to take the next step, but they’ve dealt with injuries all year. Matt Harvey, a guy whom I expected to compete for a Cy Young Award went 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA before suffering season-ending blood clots. Noah Syndergaard, who has been great this year with a 9-4 record and a 2.56 era, has also been dealing with an elbow injury all year. That injury has Mets fans worried about his durability through the stretch run. Lately he hasn’t looked like himself.
It has been the same thing for Steven Matz, who has been dealing with bone spurs in his elbow throughout the season, but has decided to put off surgery. This is concerning. With the trade deadline looming, I think the Mets must part ways with a top prospect and, in exchange, go out and get a guy like Matt Moore or Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chris Archer of the Rays (photo, abcactionnews.com)
I think the top candidate is Dominic Smith. I know Sandy Alderson might be reluctant to trade a guy like Smith, who’s arguably the top prospect in the system, but trading him for one of the two Rays makes sense. Archer and Moore are both young (27 years old) and they’re both under contract through next season. Adding one of these arms to the rotation could give the Mets enough depth to make a run at World Series and it would also set them up for the future.
The bottom line is this: time is a ticking for the Mets. If they want to contend, then they must get another starting pitcher in the rotation. Get it done before the trade deadline!
