Mets Should Trade Bounce-Back Starter to NL Club For Rental Relievers

The New York Mets should use this rejuvenated starter as a trade chip to acquire relief help from this NL club.

David Stearns on the field in Milwaukee before a game in 2022. / Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK

This is a hypothetical scenario where two NL Wild Card contenders could help each other out at the trade deadline.

The New York Mets desperately need relief pitching and the Cincinnati Reds could use another starter in their banged-up rotation.

So why not send bounce-back righty Luis Severino to the Reds in exchange for one or two rental relievers?

The Mets currently sit in the NL's third Wild Card spot, a game ahead of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. They're just a half game back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second position, and 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the top slot.

Their offense and starting rotation have been areas of strength since late-May, and ace Kodai Senga is nearing a return from the IL. This means they can afford to part ways with Severino, whose contract expires after the season.

The Reds on the other hand are three games behind the Mets, and have a slew of productive veteran relievers that will become free agents this winter.

As Sports Illustrated reported last week, the cross-town rival New York Yankees have been persistently pursuing multiple Reds' relievers, and Cincinnati had scouts in Tampa from July 9-11 watching the Bronx Bombers take on the Rays at Tropicana Field. This would indicate that the Reds are looking for major league talent in return.

Veteran righty duo Buck Farmer and Lucas Sims are two names that would make sense for the Mets, who could be looking to add several relief arms to help shore up their struggling bullpen. Both hurlers will be free agents after the season, and so will Severino.

Starting pitching is typically costly at the deadline every year, making it a realistic possibility for the Mets to receive at least two relievers from Cincinnati if a trade of this caliber were to come to fruition.

President of baseball operations David Stearns revealed that the Mets' "default stance" will be a six-man rotation upon Senga's return following the All-Star break. But this strategy is difficult to envision given the fact that New York would have to shorten their already rough bullpen.

Without Severino, the Mets would still have a strong five-man rotation of Senga, Christian Scott, Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Jose Quintana. Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and/or Adrian Houser can fill in if a starter were to suffer an injury. Top prospect Brandon Sproat has also been electric in Double-A Binghamton this year.

The Mets acquired righty reliever Phil Maton from the Rays last week. It's a start, but there is still more work to be done if they want to solidify a spot in the postseason. The Reds seem like perfect trade partners, and as solid as Severino has been for the Mets this year (3.78 ERA), he is expendable due to their rotation depth.