Time is ticking.
The New York Mets have roughly two more days to pull off any more deals they deem necessary before the July 30 MLB trade deadline arrives.
The Mets (55-49) are in a tight battle with their division rival Atlanta Braves (55-48) for the No. 2 seed in the NL East as well as the San Diego Padres (57-50) and Arizona Diamondbacks (55-50) in a four-team jockey for the sixth and final Wild Card position in the National League, which manager Carlos Mendoza’s ball club currently owns.
Thus, New York was urged by Jim Bowden of The Athletic (via The New York Times) on Friday, July 26, to make an offer for San Francisco Giants reigning NL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, should he become available as the deadline approaches. Bowden’s plea came just a day before Mets ace Kodai Senga went down with a potential season-ending high-grade left calf strain in his season debut against the Braves on Saturday, July 27. Bowden had this to say about a deal for Snell (h/t Patrick McAvoy of New York Mets on SI):
“The Mets are playing like a playoff team, so now instead of being minor buyers for relievers at the deadline, they need to shift and also try to acquire an upgrade in the starting rotation, such as Snell, Jack Flaherty, or Eric Fedde,” Bowden said.
Could the Mets strike on a trade for Blake Snell before the deadline hits?
Snell is currently 0-3 across 10 starts in 2024 with an inflated 5.10 ERA for the Giants. He is sporting a characteristic 1.280 WHIP and a solid 61 strikeouts, the latter of which would put him on pace to finish north of 120 K’s should he see double the amount of time he has thus far on the mound in the back half of the year. Much of his lackluster play could be attributed to his adductor and groin strains that sidelined him for a considerable portion of the year thus far.
With all of those elements taken into consideration, there may not be a better time for the Mets to try and acquire the Washington native than now.
Multiple teams are also showing interest in Snell
Multiple reports reveal that both the New York Yankees and Snell’s former team, the Padres, are interested in acquiring the 31-year-old’s services, suggesting that the Giants may look to deal their superstar flamethrower despite his 0.75 ERA and 35.7 percent strikeout rate over his last four games, as Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors accentuated on Sunday.
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How Snell would impact the Mets on the mound & on the books
New York owns the tenth-worst ERA (4.15) in the Major Leagues. With the way Snell has been at it of late, he could help turn things around for the Mets in that area and bolster one of the best units in the strikeouts department to close the campaign. The Mets have retired 918 batters thus far, good for eighth-best in the big leagues, and could ascend further with the lefty ace on board.
Snell is playing great baseball again and could be the No. 1 option the Mets need to help get them into the 2024 playoffs and moreso, create a formidable pitching unit next to Senga once the 2023 All-Star returns (again) from injury in 2025.
The Mets would need to be willing to potentially take on $30 million in 2025 should Snell opt into his player option for next season, but with owner Steve Cohen’s desire to spend big for top talent, coupled with a window of opportunity for the Mets to try and capitalize on their winning ways, a trade for San Francisco’s talented arm could pay immeasurable dividends for the ball club going forward.
