The trade deadline came and went, and the Mets did plenty of dealing. Still, not every name that should have been in the mix actually moved. A few players stuck around who, in the eyes of this reporting, fit the profile of someone New York ought to have shopped harder.
Luis Robert Jr. stands out as the clearest example. On a team option for next year, he looks like the kind of player the Mets needed to move before that option becomes a real decision. The expectation here is that once the Mets get another chance, it will be as good as declined.
But Robert Jr. wasn’t the only one. There are three other players who, while still wearing Mets colors, have a case for having been on the block.
Jared Young is useful, no question. He can handle first base, hold down a corner outfield spot, and even cover third in an emergency.
At the plate, he’s hitting .249 with a .749 OPS this season, which has made him the club’s top first base option. That said, the piece of the puzzle here is simple: the Mets shouldn’t let that fool them into thinking he’s a true big league starter.
The more he’s seen, the more he looks like a limited bench piece. If Luke Weaver wasn’t good enough to stay in next year’s plans, the question is whether Young really should be either.
Daniel Duarte is another name that makes sense in trade-deadline conversations. He had gone until his latest outing without giving up a run, and as a ground-ball pitcher, the assumption is that he could have had some appeal, even if the return was small.
The Mets may not have had to move him, but with no minor league options left, there’s no guarantee he’s even on the roster by Opening Day. One bad spring - or whatever they end up calling spring training if the season gets delayed - could be enough to change that.
Then there’s Kodai Senga, who was the surprise name tied to the San Diego Padres. The rumor never appears to have gone beyond a check-in, but that alone was enough to raise the possibility.
The idea here is that David Stearns should not have let AJ Preller get off the phone. Senga is described here as a lost cause, with a role so unclear that it’s barely defined at all.
The complication, of course, is the contract running through next year, which means money would have had to be part of any deal. Still, if the Mets were willing to eat parts of Weaver’s contract this year and next, the argument is that they should have considered paying to move Senga, too.
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