STILL A SAVE SITUATION
Mets can salvage ’17 if Sandy works magic
Jacob deGrom was defiant. Injuries have happened in the past; the Mets have overcome the odds before. The club’s best pitcher in the miserable first half of a disappointing season did not like the idea of talking about this year as already being wasted.
“There is no reason we can’t still make this into a battle,” deGrom said. “I know we have an uphill battle. I know we have lost a lot of guys, but you can’t control injuries. That has happened and is in the past, nothing you can do about that.
“But we get some guys back and we can put a run together,” the 29-year-old said. “I see no reason why we can’t. We did it last year.”
Around the quiet clubhouse in St. Louis, players were talking about a second-half turnaround cautiously. They know it’s an uphill battle to overcome being eight games below .500 at the All-Star Break and a 12-game deficit in the National League East. Even the 10.5 game gap — and five teams — between the Mets and the second Wild Card spot is daunting.
But that is exactly the mindset deGrom needs to have.
A one-game play-in, however, cannot be a consideration outside that clubhouse. As far as the front office goes, 2017 is already a disaster and it’s time to start turning attention to 2018. A one-game shot at the playoffs is not worth holding on to players too long or impeding the progress of prospects like Amed Rosario.
So the next two weeks are critical for the Mets on and off the field as they work toward the July 31 trade deadline.
On the field, five out of the six series the Mets have before the deadline are against teams with losing records. It’s a chance to make up some ground and hopefully start getting their under-performing players, like Yoenis Cespedes, back on track.
Neil Walker expects to be back next week; it will be beneficial for the Mets to get him on the field to prove he is healthy and productive.
According to scouts who are assigned to evaluate the Mets’ farm system, it is almost completely depleted. After trades to make the push to the World Series in 2015, their pitching is years away and they have very few notable position players at the moment.
So the Mets should be looking to flip veteran players for prospects. Outfielder Jay Bruce and interim closer Addison Reed have both received considerable interest, according to sources. Unfortunately for the Mets, there is little to no interest in Asdrubal Cabrera, the player who demanded a trade last month.
“The problem the Mets have is that those guys are not going to bring you back anything significant,” one industry source said. “They are going to get mid-level prospects, if that, for those guys.”
Sandy Alderson has pulled off some favorable deals for the Mets in the past — getting the Blue Jays to throw in Noah Syndergaard for R.A. Dickey and bringing back Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran. This trade deadline will be a good test of the GM’s abilities to make the most out of a bad situation.
But the Mets can’t let the rest of their season depend on what happens by July 31.
The Mets would very much like to have Cabrera out of the picture before they bring up Rosario, according to one team source.
If that is the case, the Mets have to either move the veteran infielder in any deal they can or cut their losses by the deadline.
The Mets have been very cautious with Rosario. They have said they want to bring him up in the perfect situation and make sure he never goes back down. Dominic Smith — whom the Mets seem convinced is their first baseman of the future despite widespread doubts in baseball — and Gavin Cecchini, if he is the second baseman of 2018 as expected, also need to be here.
If Rosario is the foundation for the future, he and these young players need to be getting big league experience if they are going to contribute next season. On the field, deGrom and the Mets have their work cut out for them if they are going to make anything out of the 2017 season. Off the field, 2017 is still salvageable, but it’s going to be an uphill battle and a big test for Alderson as well.