Mets' Top Players to Target and Avoid at 2022 MLB Trade Deadline
The New York Mets entered the All-Star break perched atop the NL East standings, but their lead over the Atlanta Braves has shrunk in recent weeks and there's work to be done shoring up the roster if they are going to lock up a division title.
Despite news that Jacob deGrom suffered a minor setback on the rehab trail and now might not return to the active roster until August, the No. 1 item on the to-do list at the deadline is still to upgrade the punchless designated hitter spot.
There's also the matter of the catcher position, which continues to underperform with James McCann on the injured list once again, while top prospect Francisco Alvarez continues to hone his skills in the minors.
Ahead, we've highlighted two players the Mets should target and also taken a quick look at two guys they would be wise to avoid.
1B C.J. Cron, Colorado Rockies
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According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron is a "candidate to be traded" at the deadline, and he specifically mentioned the New York Mets as a potential landing spot.
The 32-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $14.5 million deal, and he was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career after hitting .298/.350/.552 for a 138 OPS+ with 21 doubles, 21 home runs and 69 RBI during a 3.1-WAR first half.
While his numbers are much better at Coors Field this year, he has been a consistent source of power production throughout his career with three previous 20-homer seasons, two of which came with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays.
Would a package of Dominic Smith and a mid-level prospect be enough to entice the Rockies? Smith is a prime change-of-scenery candidate and Cron's team-friendly 2023 contract gives him more value than a rental player.
DH Nelson Cruz, Washington Nationals
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It's not going to take a prospect the caliber of Joe Ryan—the pitcher the Tampa Bay Rays gave up to acquire Nelson Cruz at the deadline last year—to acquire the veteran slugger this time around.
Cruz was hitting .294/.370/.537 with a 159 OPS+ and 19 home runs when he was traded at the deadline last year. This season, he's batting just .242/.324/.361 with eight home runs and 48 RBI, good for a league-average 100 OPS+ through 351 plate appearances.
That said, would anyone be surprised to see the ageless wonder catch fire and have a big second half?
The 42-year-old still ranks among the MLB leaders in average exit velocity (81st percentile) and hard-hit rate (89th percentile), which provides plenty of optimism for his production moving forward.
Players to Avoid
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1B Josh Bell, Washington Nationals
The Mets would be wise to let someone else pay for the career year that Josh Bell is having right now. The 29-year-old is hitting .311/.390/.504 with 21 doubles, 13 home runs and 50 RBI, but he's doing it with significantly worse batted-ball metrics than teammate Nelson Cruz, who will likely come at a fraction of the price. He has also never been a full-time DH in his career, and there's no telling how that transition might impact his production.
C Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs
Despite getting the worst offensive production in the league from the catcher position,
the Mets backstops rank fourth in defensive value, and there's something to be said for having that type of stability to lead a pitching staff. It's going to cost an arm and a leg to acquire Willson Contreras and, simply put, there are more pressing needs even if their catcher's batting averages don't look good on the scoreboard.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.
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