NY Mets Rumors: Justin Verlander is deflated
The Mets are 16 games out of first place in the NL East. They've been an abject disaster this season, despite having both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer leading their rotation, and a lineup which features Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and more. On paper, this should be a playoff team. In practice, the Mets are anything but.
New York is 8.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the National League. After another solid outing by Justin Verlander which ended in defeat, the embattled pitcher spoke out about his team's struggles.
"I don't think anybody saw this coming, man," said Verlander. "Disappointing. It's disappointing for everyone in this room, I know. It's disappointing for the fans. Just got to — just keep trying, you know? If there's one thing that I know the guys in this room are doing is trying our ass off. Every day we come to the park, myself, it's trying to get better and figure out what's off. And I know that most of the guys in this room are the same way, and hopefully it clicks for everybody. But we've got to get going — soon."
'Soon', as Verlander states, was likely about a month ago. Yes, it's only June, but the trade deadline is a month away. New York's front office must start formulating their deadline plans for the month of July and, looking at this current on-field product, it's tough to argue that they should buy.
NY Mets Rumors: Does Steve Cohen deserve blame for collapse?
Yes, New York's on-field product has been putrid and the front office has made all the wrong moves. However, all of this goes back to the man in charge — Steve Cohen. In the end, all Cohen can do is act in the team's best interest, and let the Mets decision makers work freely with all the resources they need. He has done just that, but did it ever occur to him that perhaps the wrong people have too much say?
Buck Showalter has made mistakes time and time again this season. Those flaws have been highlighted by the Mets losing record, and should it continue, he could be a scapegoat after the season. Billy Eppler, meanwhile, failed to make the right decisions this offseason. New York is the most expensive team in baseball. Where has it gotten them?
Cohen knows better than most though that any failure goes all the way to the top. He will have to take some blame, even if it's unwarranted. However, as Andy McCullough of The Athletic points out, Cohen did what every Mets fan asked of him this offseason:
"Because he owns the team, and the owner decides both who gets a pass and who gets a bus pass to the next gig. It seems odd to blame Cohen for doing what most fans beg their owners to do every winter: Spend irrational sums of money on free-agent contracts that anyone with access to an actuarial table can tell you is a risky move. If you would like your owner to spend less, I have great news for you. It's a 30-team league and a lot of stewards operate with far less interest in largesse than Cohen."
In the end, Cohen acted like a fan. He has the same demands as the fanbase, but for now is holding back the urge to act irrationally. Even the richest man is baseball needs to learn how to act more like an executive, and he's doing so on the fly.
The Mets have a highly-ranked farm system and some serious assets they can trade in late-July. In theory, they should be set up for a quick retool.
NY Mets Rumors: Latest on the trade deadline
The last real reported information on Eppler's trade deadline plans was last week, when Andy Martino suggested they could take on larger contracts if it lands them an asset. An example is Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin.
"In conversations with league sources, Corbin's name was the most frequently linked to the Mets. Washington owes Corbin $24.4 million this season and a stunning $35.4 million in 2024. The Mets could offer to pay all of that in exchange for a reliever like Hunter Harvey, C.J. Edwards or Kyle Finnegan.
Corbin wouldn't be an instant DFA, either. Perhaps Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, widely regarded as one of the best and brightest in the sport, could salvage some level of performance from the former All-Star."
More recently, the Mets struggles have continued, pushing them further in the selling category. With that in mind, Max Scherzer and even Verlander become more expendable if any team is willing to take on their contracts.
As mentioned, New York is 16.5 games out of the NL East lead, and 8.5 games back in the NL Wild Card. There's little hope of making the postseason right now. Barring a roaring July run, they will not buy at the deadline. Frankly, there's little they can do right now without blocking younger prospects from receiving playing time.
Like most struggling, high-payroll teams in baseball, New York likely doesn't want a complete teardown. However, trading players on expiring deals such as Starling Marte or even Scherzer (who has a player opt-out), could make sense.
