How Josh Donaldson, Patrick Corbin and Steven Matz can help Mets trade for bullpen help
The Mets are seeking bullpen help, but are unwilling to part with any of their top prospects at the trade deadline.
Come August, infielder Ronny Mauricio, catcher Kevin Parada, third baseman Mark Vientos and anyone else with name recognition and/or star potential is almost certain to still be in the Mets’ system.
But while the team isn’t offering premium players, it is willing to take on another team’s burdensome contract, thereby freeing up that club to spend money elsewhere.
According to multiple league sources involved in early trade conversations, the few teams that project as sellers are currently asking for players, not money. The Mets hope that will change as the Aug. 1 deadline draws closer.
League sources identified several examples of players who the Mets could take in order to acquire a desirable pitcher.
Keep in mind that the players listed below would not have to ever actually suit up for the Mets. In March 2022, the team was close to acquiring veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer from the Padres to sweeten a deal for young pitching. Had the teams completed that deal, the Mets would have immediately designated Hosmer for assignment.
Here are some of the suggestions:
Washington Nationals: Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams, Stephen Strasburg
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.
Williams, a valuable Met last year, was interested in returning when he was a free agent last winter. He actually met personally with the Mets’ front office at last December’s winter meetings before signing a two-year, $13 million deal with Washington because the Nats offered a rotation spot. Like Corbin, he would be useful to the Mets.
Strasburg, owed $35 million per year through 2026, would fit more into the immediate DFA category. But that contract might just be too ghastly.
New York Yankees: Josh Donaldson, Giancarlo Stanton
The Yankees are not going to be sellers, of course, but they owe Donaldson what remains of his $21 million salary this year. Would they be willing to sacrifice a controllable power arm like Ian Hamilton in order to free up the Donaldson money for the trade deadline and remain under the luxury tax threshold? It’s an intriguing idea.
If the Mets traded for Donaldson, they would presumably cut him rather than add him. Not so for Stanton, who could be their DH. Everyone in the Yankees organization, from the front office to the clubhouse, loves Stanton -- but what if Steve Cohen offers the Yanks a way out of the $118 million owed to him from 2024-27?
That would be worth even more than Hamilton -- but unlike the more plausible Donaldson idea, the Stanton concept is probably far closer to talk radio fodder than reality.
St. Louis Cardinals: Steven Matz
Lol. But it’s $10.5 million this year and $12.5 million in ‘24 and ‘25. Could that tempt the Cardinals to talk Jordan Hicks?
Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez, Scott Barlow
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to mention the possibility that a team could take on Perez’s and/or Barlow’s contract as a way to acquire Aroldis Chapman.
Since then, Royals GM J.J. Picollo has said that he is not interested in trading Perez ($20 million this year, $20 million in 2024, $22 million in 2025).
A Barlow ($5.4 million this year, then a projected raise in his final year of arbitration)/Chapman ($3.75 million this year) combo would instantly revitalize the Mets’ pen. But according to a league source, Kansas City is still looking for prospects in a deal for those pitchers.
