Mets Must Address Pitching with Taillon, Fedde Amid MLB Trade Deadline 2024 Rumors

The New York Mets have the best record in MLB since June and have spent most of July building momentum for themselves, thanks to some electric offense and star players such as Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil rediscovering their bats.

The team scratched and clawed its way out of the basement and into the NL Wild Card, where they have the potential to be a dangerous team this coming postseason.

That is, if they make it.

Despite all of the fun surrounding the team, there is one glaring issue facing these Mets: pitching.

According to two MLB insiders, the team is looking into addressing that issue.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the team in interested in Jameson Taillon of the Chicago Cubs. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the team has also inquired about Erick Fedde of the White Sox.

Taillon has been a very effective pitcher for the Cubs this season, with a 2.96 ERA, 78 strikeouts, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 7-5 record for a so-so Chicago squad. Taillon has history with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza dating back to his time as a starter for the Yankees and Mendoza's start as bench coach.

A reunion would provide the Mets with a much-needed starter after the news that Kodai Senga will miss the rest of the 2024 season with a significant calf strain.

Fedde fits the same mold; a competent starter who can hold things down for a Mets team that does not need to shut opponents out, but needs more quality stuff from their rotation in order to maintain the momentum they have built for themselves.

Fedde is currently staring at a 3.11 ERA, 108 strikeouts, a 1.14 WHIP, and a win-loss record of 7-4 for a worst-team-in-the-league White Sox squad. He is averaging eight strikeouts per nine innings.

Either player would go a long way in enhancing a starting lineup in which Luis Severino has been the de facto ace in Senga's absence while Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea have been good enough for the team to eek out victories.

The Mets are tied for the second Wildcard spot in the NL with San Diego, a team that came alive with a series victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

If they can land a quality starter and keep those bats swinging through September, they have the potential to be one of the most fun and exciting teams to watch come the playoffs.

If not, though, what has been a somewhat magical season for fans at Citi Field in Queens will end in utter disappointment. Just ask those aforementioned Orioles, who watched their push for a World Series end in bitter disappointment amid starting pitching that was unable to slow the bats of the eventual champions, the Texas Rangers.