The New York Mets (27-35) aren’t exactly having the season they were gunning for through the first 62 games of the 2024 MLB season. The good news is, they have 100 more games to shape up. The bad news is that the Mets have had most of their troops healthy for the year and have not been able to string together enough quality starts.
New York is faced with a narrowing window to either shake up their roster and push for a playoff run in the second half of the year, or stick with their current troop in hopes that the tide, exacerbated by their putrid month of May, turns.
Mets: Harrison Bader could field offers from contenders as trade deadline nears
With the former reportedly more likely, out goes outfielder Harrison Bader, whose career-high output has not been relished by the Mets thus far. They could flip him at the July 30 MLB trade deadline, as Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller reported.
“The glovework alone should make Bader an intriguing target for some teams, but he’s also having a more productive season at the plate than had been the case in recent years,” Miller noted.
“He could go to a contender and be a daily fixture in the 8-hole while manning the 8 (CF) in the scorebook.”
Bader is still a top-shelf fielder in center field. He owns a .985 fielding percentage on the season. The Florida product has only made two errors as opposed to his 128 putouts for New York.
As good as he’s been on the field, and improved at the plate with a .272. batting average, the Mets could still trade him elsewhere should they be sellers at the deadline.
Will Bader be able to play his way out of trade rumors?
The franchise did unexpectedly bench Bader earlier this spring, which he voiced his frustrations about before being reinstated into the starting lineup. Fast forward to the present, and the last look that Bader gave the Mets was an outing against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday that saw him go 1-3 with three RBIs en route to a 9-1 win for the team.
If his play continues at that level for the short-term, he could deter management from shipping him off to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for prospects, as Miller made note of, or whatever team would desire his services. If not, the Mets may go in a different direction while he has considerable value.