The New York Mets have been taking plenty of heat from the hometown media for slow-crawling their roster overhaul, and the national media has picked up on that particular storyline as well. The Mets were one of several teams that were flagged as a club that needs to make a big move by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
The Mets have made moves, but Passan remains unimpressed. They’ve added second baseman Marcus Semien, infielder Jorge Polanco, closer Devin Williams and reliever Luke Weaver, while subtracting first baseman Pete Alonso, former closer Edwin Diaz, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and infielder Jeff McNeil. To Passan, that’s a push that was done mostly to recalibrate their clubhouse which is true to some extent. They haven't done anything splashy so far, which leaves a lot of media types twiddling their thumbs at the keyboard.
But the Mets already have made a big move, offering free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker a deal with a $50 million AAV, according to multiple reports. It’s not enough for Passan, who like many media types wants to see the Mets go in big for starter Framber Valdez, which almost certainly won’t happen given the number of years Valdez is seeking.
Passan is on the right track in suggesting a trade, however. The three big names mentioned here are starters Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, although McLean is a prospective ace who isn’t going anywhere.
He does mention some other names that aren’t brought up all that frequently. Specifically, Jonathan Santucci and R.J. Gordon are pitchers who have moved up through the Mets system quickly, according to Passan, and could be in the rotation by 2027. The media wants to see a trade for a top-tier starter like Freddy Peralta or Tarik Skubal, but that kind of move is just as unlikely.
Two things will happen soon: (1) Tucker will accept or reject the Mets offer, and if he does their lineup will be mostly settled going into this season (2) Stearns will package a couple of his excess starters along with possibilities like infielders Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio to get either a starter or an outfielder if Tucker turns down the Mets.
This kind of move isn’t nearly as sexy, but Stearns has already proven he doesn’t care about that at all. He cares about run prevention, controllable young starting pitching and playing good fundamental baseball, and any moves he makes going forward will take place with that in mind.