Wheeler dealing with waiting game
CHICAGO — Staying or going?
The fact Noah Syndergaard took the ball for the Mets on Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field was a strong indicator the Mets were nowhere close on a deal involving the former All-Star.
And then there’s Zack Wheeler, still the most likely of the Mets’ pitchers to be dealt by Wednesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline. The righthander is scheduled to face the White Sox in Thursday’s series finale, but whether that start will occur is anybody’s guess, following the deal earlier this week in which the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman from Toronto for minor league pitching prospects.
In a perfect world, the Mets would keep the band together and try to make a run at the National League’s second wild-card berth with a potentially elite rotation that includes Wheeler. But the reality check was the Mets began the night six games behind the Cubs and Cardinals for that final wild-card spot, and Wheeler is an impending free agent, albeit a candidate to receive a qualifying offer.
So dealing Wheeler now could be the best option for a club in need of pieces to contend in 2020. Still, the Mets haven’t abandoned this season and are allowed to dream.
“It’s obviously a great rotation and that is the kind of rotation that can get you on some pretty big runs, so I have been thinking about it,” manager Mickey Callaway said.
The Mets have dangled Wheeler, Syndergaard and Edwin Diaz, but need to be “blown away” to deal the latter two, according to club sources. Wheeler, meanwhile, has drawn interest from the Astros, Rays and his hometown Braves, among others.
So real was the possibility Wheeler will be traded that club officials scratched Ervin Santana from his scheduled start for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday to provide insurance if Wheeler’s rotation spot opens. The Mets also dispatched public relations honcho Harold Kaufman to join the club to prepare for the possibility of a trade announcement.
Wheeler returned from the injured list Friday after missing two starts after the All-Star break with fatigue in his right shoulder, but the Mets remained confident they could land a solid return for the right-hander.
Stroman, a Long Island native, is expected to join the team Wednesday and make his Mets debut in Pittsburgh over the weekend.
Deleted from the rotation this week was Jason Vargas, whom the Mets dealt to the Phillies for Double-A catcher Austin Bossart. The deal will save the Mets about $2 million.
Callaway noted the awkwardness of Vargas remaining in the NL East against a team the Mets are theoretically competing against for a wild-card berth.
“We’ll know a lot about him, he’ll know a lot about us,” Callaway said. “I don’t know who the advantage goes to in that scenario.”