An Early Look at the Top 3 Mets Trade Deadline Chips

The 2015 season is only a few weeks old, but it's never too early to begin to speculate what kinds of trades the Mets could make to improve the team a little more.

With the way their season has started, the Mets will very likely be buyers this season before the trade deadline. There are not too many needs on the team right now, but with various injuries that have either already happened or could happen in the future, having extra depth would be helpful.

Here are three particular trade chips the Mets could use to make moves this season.

RHP Dillon Gee

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Dillon Gee's role in the Mets' pitching staff became that much more critical after Zack Wheeler injured his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery, which ended his season. Gee was put back in the rotation, but his rotation spot could be in jeopardy if/when Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz make their anticipated MLB debuts later in the season.

Syndergaard and Matz are both very highly regarded, and at least one of them should be up by June or July at the latest. When the time comes, Gee is the most likely candidate to get bumped off the rotation.

So then where does Gee go? Would the Mets put him in the bullpen? Or would they try to trade him? The Mets could definitely look into moving Gee this summer unless the Syndergaard and Matz debuts do not go as well as planned.

In the offseason, Gee was linked in trade rumors to the Rockies and Rangers in particular, but no trade ended up occurring with either team.

The Mets probably won't trade Gee just to dump him, but if they can find the right value for him, this could very well be Gee's final season with the team. Again, it seems like the Mets will need to be satisfied with the return package in order to actually move Gee.

C Kevin Plawecki

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

The recent finger injury to catcher Travis d'Arnaud resulted in top catching prospect Kevin Plawecki getting called up earlier than expected.

Plawecki is a very good young catcher, but, in a way, is blocked by d'Arnaud on the major league roster. This is a good problem for the Mets to have because it's rare for a team to have this much depth among young catchers.

Plawecki now is getting every opportunity to play with d'Arnaud on the disabled list, but once d'Arnaud is healthy again, it will be interesting to see what will happen to Plawecki.

More than likely, Plawecki will end up being used as a trade chip, but the Mets won't just move him for anyone. If he were to get traded, it would very likely be for a superstar or another big name. In other words, Plawecki is a very valuable asset and will only get moved in the right deal.

How the Mets use Plawecki in a potential trade, though, will be very interesting to see.

RHP Gabriel Ynoa

With the Mets in a position to be buyers at the trade deadline, they'll likely try to move certain prospects from their deep minor league system.

Syndergaard and Matz will likely stay put, so the Mets could then offer other pitching prospects such as Marcos Molina, Gabriel Ynoa or Michael Fulmer, among others.

Ynoa, for one, could be a valuable trade piece. He went 15-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 2013 and 11-4 with a 4.07 ERA last year. This season, he's off to a 1-0 start with a 2.25 ERA in two starts with Double-A Binghamton. And with all the young pitchers that are already on the major league roster or close to being a part of it, there may not be an open spot for someone like Ynoa when he is deemed ready for the major leagues.

If the Mets can find a good major league upgrade somewhere, look for a pitching prospect like Ynoa to be moved in such a deal.

Minor league statistics shown are courtesy of MiLB.com.