For a piece published Wednesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic “surveyed more than 35 executives – including presidents of baseball operations, general managers and assistant GMs” regarding the short-term futures of numerous players ahead of the July 30 MLB trade deadline.
Some executives believe the New York Mets could make starting pitcher Luis Severino and/or All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso available to other clubs depending on all that occurs over the next month or so.
“Severino has been one of the most undervalued free-agent signings of the offseason, when the Mets inked him to a one-year, $13M deal,” Bowden explained. “He’s delivered, going 5-2 with a 3.29 ERA over 15 starts. Execs believe that even though the Mets are in the wild-card race, they will consider trading Severino because, the thinking goes, they’re focused more on building for the long term than trying to win now. The balance of attempting to do both will be interesting to watch.”
Severino acknowledged earlier this month that out-of-contract Mets players understood they would become subjects of trade rumors this summer if the club “didn’t play well.” While New York fell to 22-33 on the night of May 29, the team has put in a strong June and entered Wednesday at 38-39 – one and a half games back in the battle for the National League’s third wild-card playoff spot.
Some think Mets owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns could execute a pre-trade deadline fire sale if the club experiences even one significant losing streak ahead of the final weekend of July. Alonso remains on track to reach free agency after the season but may be given a chance to stay with what’s been the only home of his MLB career if the Mets win more than they lose over the next month.
“After they jumped back into the wild-card race, execs now feel it’s more unlikely than likely that they’ll trade Alonso, unless they are overwhelmed with a trade offer from a team such as the (Houston Astros) or (Seattle Mariners),” Bowden noted about the Mets. “It’s also thought that some in the Mets front office believe they’ll have a better chance to re-sign Alonso in the offseason if they don’t trade him.”
Alonso is a beloved fan-favorite, but the “Polar Bear” turns 30 years old this coming December and may be seen by Stearns as a bad long-term investment. As much as Stearns could want to sell Alonso for prospects, Cohen likely would block such a trade unless the Mets suffer a brutal collapse by the night of July 30.