The New York Mets are surprisingly in a position to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline despite the struggles they had to begin the campaign.
However, although the blue and orange have been successful as a team, their bullpen, which has been ravaged by injuries to many of its key contributors and dealt with underperformance from others, has emerged as the club’s biggest weakness.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has begun seeking reinforcements by trading for Matt Gage and Phil Maton while claiming Alex Young off of waivers. Still, the Mets need a strong left-hander out of the bullpen and could make a trade with the San Francisco Giants to fill that void.
The Mets could trade for Taylor Rogers
Like many teams in the National League, the Giants are in no man’s land. Despite being five games under .500 (47-52) and 11 games out of the NL West, the black and orange are just four games out of the final wild-card spot.
If the Giants decide to sell, they have a couple of intriguing options, but the player that should most interest the Mets is left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers.
The 32-year-old has been stellar in 2024, pitching 37.2 innings across 40 appearances to a 2.15 ERA, 1.221 WHIP and 41 strikeouts.
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Why would Rogers make sense for the Mets?
The Mets’ acquisition of Rogers would fill arguably the biggest need in the blue and orange bullpen: a strong left-handed reliever.
Brooks Raley, who began the season as the Mets’ primary left-handed reliever, has been lost since the middle of April after needing elbow surgery, and a suitable replacement has yet to be found.
Rogers is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million deal, so not only will the Colorado native help this year’s bullpen, but he could also be a vital part of the Mets 2025 bullpen.
Time will tell if the Mets and Giants can come to an agreement for Rogers, but the fit is certainly there for the blue and orange to consider making the move.
