The New York Mets entered the 2024 campaign with varying expectations, ranging from a team that finished near the bottom of the National League to a squad that could realistically challenge for one of the final wild card spots.
The blue and orange are currently in between, as they are nine games under .500 (28-37), but due to the struggles around the rest of the National League, they are just 3.5 games out of the final wild-card spot. Despite still being in the thick of things, the Mets don’t have a roster that could realistically compete with the upper echelon of squads around baseball and likely will find themselves as sellers at this year’s deadlines.
Mets could trade their star slugger at the deadline
For the second year in a row, some of the biggest chips at the deadline are starting in the Mets’ stack, with this year’s crown jewel being slugger Pete Alonso. Alonso is slashing .236/.317/.468 through 65 games while leading the squad with 14 home runs and is tied for first with 32 RBIs.
With all signs pointing toward the Polar Bear being a free agent after rejecting a seven-year $158 million contract extension last summer, and is expected to command $200 million on the open market, the Mets could trade Alonso and duplicate a similar deal they made at the 2021 trade deadline.
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The Mets could undo the Javier Báez trade, reunite with Pete Crow-Armstrong
On July 30, 2021, the Mets decided they looked in prime position to make the postseason for the first time since 2016 and made a big splash at the trade deadline, acquiring Javier Báez and Trevor Williams in exchange for Pete Crow-Armstrong. Acquiring the Puerto Rican native ultimately didn’t move the needle enough, despite Báez’s great numbers: a .299/.371/.515 slash line across 47 games with nine home runs and 22 RBIs.
At the time, Crow-Armstrong was the Mets’ fifth-ranked prospect before blossoming in the Cubs minor league system and being ranked as their top prospect in 2023 and No. 28 on MLB.com’s top-100 list.
Crow-Armstrong has yet to figure things out with the Cubs at the big league level and could come back to the Mets in a potential deal that would include Alonso and a depth starter to undo the Báez deal essentially. Time will tell if Alonso even gets traded at the deadline, but a move that brings Crow-Armstrong back to Queens is an intriguing one.