The New York Mets have climbed out of a massive midseason hole in the month of June, but that does not eliminate them as potential major players around the upcoming July 30 trade deadline.
Tim Boyle of Rising Apple has the Mets pushing the button on a trade for Houston Astros reigning two-time All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker in exchange for third-year slugger Brett Baty and a pot of top Mets prospects (h/t Evan Massey of Fan Nation’s Inside the Astros):
“In the proposed trade idea, the Astros would send Tucker to the Mets in exchange for Drew Gilbert, Brett Baty, Blade Tidwell, and any of the team’s catching prospects,” Massey synthesized.
Mets: Kyle Tucker would gift the franchise with one of the best right fielders in baseball
Tucker is one of the best right fielders in the entire MLB. He is vying to make his third straight All-Star game in 2024 and complements his 19 home runs and .266/.395/.584 slash line from this season with an unblemished fielding percentage fueled by his 103 putouts and two double plays turned to no errors in the field.
The 27-year-old is in the thick of his prime and also has a Gold Glove award from 2022 that proves his defensive prowess and a Silver Slugger award from 2023 that does the same for his offensive dominance. The Mets could greatly benefit from having a game-changer like him in their batting order and outfield.
Tucker could help the Mets advance on the bags in the steals department
New York could use a boost in stealing bases. They rank No. 13 on the campaign with 59 steals. Seeing that Tucker was one home run shy of making the illustrious 30-30 club last year and has 10 steals in 2024, he’d be able to carry the Mets along with reigning 30-30 club member SS Francisco Lindor in that department and also help keep the Mets in the top-five League-wide in home runs, where they’re currently situated at No. 4 overall with 102 HR.
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Who the mock trade has the Mets sending away to acquire the All-Star slugger
As for who they’d give up, the Mets have seen promise from 3B Baty, but his injuries and lackluster .215 batting average in three years playing at Citi Field are well worth swapping for Tucker in a deal. The kicker in this mock trade is Gilbert, who the Astros originally drafted No. 28 overall in 2022. Gilbert, the Mets’ No. 2 prospect has a big league call-up ETA set for this season and has done well at Triple-A Syracuse with six home runs in 25 at-bats alongside a .240 batting average and respectable .681 OPS.
The Minnesota native would gift the Astros with a centerpiece for their future, seeing that their core led by Jose Altuve is advancing in age and their success in the standings (42-41) has flip-flopped in 2024 but has been saved by a recent 9-1 stretch in their last 10 games.
The Mets would also be relinquishing their No. 10 overall prospect, RHP Blake Tidwell, who has been no-nonsense with an average of six strikeouts per game in 11 starts for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. He’s also been efficient with a 3.65 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. New York rounds out the trade by giving up a catcher prospect. C Kevin Parada is their top prospect at that position at No. 9 overall and Yovanny Rodriguez comes in shortly after him at No. 17 in the Mets’ farming system.
There’s no telling if Houston would be moved to send away Tucker in a deal of this magnitude. However, whatever opportunity the Mets have to land the star slugger should be looked at closely as their World Series hopes still have movement on their ECG.