Sandy Alderson Pegs New York Mets' Biggest Needs Ahead of Trade Deadline

ATLANTA - Spoiler alert, the Mets will be looking for DH and bullpen help ahead of the August 2 trade deadline. 

In an appearance on The New York Post's Baseball Podcast: The Show, team president Sandy Alderson addressed the two biggest elephants in the room.

First, he acknowledged the most significant hole in the Mets' lineup. 

"We’ve got among the lowest DH productivity in the game, take (Pete) Alonso out of it, and it has been very poor. Is DH a spot that’s going to be highly competitive in the market place? Maybe, I doubt it. Doesn’t mean some team in our division might not try to hold us up for a top prospect, but again I think there will be opportunity there."

As a result, the Mets will be targeting a DH, with Trey Mancini and Josh Bell being the most sensible fits. Rival NL executives see Mancini as the Mets' best bet and top option. Bell is also someone they like a lot, as do most teams. 

In the meantime, the Mets could possibly call-up an internal option from their pool of prospects to help ignite the offense, before the market materializes. 

Alderson highlighted this potential option, but also said it won't be something the Mets will rely on.

“We have three options. One we can go with what we have. We have been waiting all season for one or two of those players to ignite and that hasn’t happened. As a second option we can pursue somebody internally, which could be an (Francisco) Alvarez, maybe a (Brett) Baty, maybe a (Mark) Vientos. But that’s not something we want to rely on either. That’s not a fail safe option. The third is to acquire somebody outside. It’s fairly obvious who the DH candidates are. There are a handful of them and are pretty easy to identify. In evaluating what it will cost to acquire those players, part of it is analyzing the market."

Regarding Alvarez, the Mets' top prospect catcher, Alderson told The Post that he needs to put together sustained success at Triple A Syracuse, who he recently joined on July 3, before being considered a candidate to join the major league roster. 

"In order for Alvarez to be considered, we have to see sustained performance over some period of time at Triple A, and we haven’t seen that because he hasn’t had an opportunity to do it. So I wouldn’t say that is an immediate option or something we’re going to rely on."

As for Baty, he is still in Double A, but Vientos is someone that could come up to Queens soon. Vientos has played 64 games this year for Syracuse and has 15 home runs and 41 RBIs with a .834 OPS. Since May 1, he is hitting .287 with 14 homers and 33 RBIs. 

For what it's worth, an individual familiar with the Mets' thinking believes a Vientos promotion is under consideration by the front office. One talent evaluator believes Vientos can provide spark as a complementary piece in the Mets' lineup. 

If Vientos gets called up, this won't effect the Mets' intention to trade for a DH.

Alderson called Alvarez and Baty untouchable, and indicated that the Mets are unwilling to deal any top prospects at the deadline this year, especially after sending Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs in 2021 for a rental in Javier Baez. 

As for the bullpen, Alderson said this area needs to be strengthened as well. Beyond elite closer Edwin Diaz, the bridge to the ninth inning has been a bit erratic. 

"The bullpen I think needs to be strengthened. We’ve lost three or four games at least in the last 20 games with late home runs after the starters. That can’t continue with a championship team. We can’t just keep giving up bombs to determine outcomes.”

"With the bullpen, those acquisitions aren’t always that expensive either. When I say that, we want to try to preserve prospects, we’ve got some good ones. We traded one last year to the Cubs, Crow-Armstrong. He was hurt at the time, but today he’s ranked like 40^th among all prospects in baseball, so we gotta be careful about who we move and for what reasons."

The Mets have scouted Cubs righty closer David Robertson, while Tigers lefty Andrew Chafin is seen as a fit. During Alderson's time as general manager of the Mets, he acquired two high-leverage relief arms at the deadline in 2015, Tyler Clippard and Addison Reed, which helped New York in their run to the World Series. 

While Trevor May is expected to return shortly after the All-Star break, the Mets could still land multiple relievers on the trade market, given their need for left-handers in the bullpen as well. 

Read More:

- Could Mark Vientos be Internal Bat Option for Mets Soon?

- Max Scherzer Proving to be 'Difference Maker' for Mets

- Jacob deGrom to Make 3rd Rehab Start for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday

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