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The New York Mets are one of the more exciting teams in baseball on the field. Ahead of the trade deadline, they have the chance to be one of the most exciting teams on the trade block, too.
New York could use an upgrade or two in the lineup, but it’s the team’s pitching staff that really needs some help.
The Mets could add an arm or two to the bullpen. They also need to add a pitcher to the starting rotation following Griffin Canning’s season-ending injury.
Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly recently suggested the Mets could swing a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks to acquire expiring pitcher Merrill Kelly ahead of the trade deadline.
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“The Mets’ starting rotation has been better than what was expected coming into the season, but president of baseball operations David Stearns still needs to upgrade the unit before the postseason,” Kelly wrote. “Merrill Kelly would be a rental, but he’s a steady pitcher to add to a rotation with David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes as the Mets try to build a group that can compete in October.
“Perhaps Sean Manaea will play a role down the stretch, but the Mets can’t expect him to be the same pitcher he was in the second half of last season. Not only does Kelly have a 3.49 ERA over 111 innings this season, but he is playoff-tested after posting a 2.25 ERA during a magical 2023 postseason run for the Diamondbacks.”
The Mets could look to acquire a controllable superstar, but they would require the front office to cut ties with multiple top prospects. Instead, they could go after an expiring player like Kelly, who would likely be had for much less prospect capital than the stars on the market.
Either way, the Mets need to add a pitcher in the coming weeks. They can’t bank on Sean Manaea returning to the mound like the pitcher he was a year ago. Acquiring Kelly would be a huge move in the right direction for New York.
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