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Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted out that the Mets are in a wait and see mode with regards to the trade deadline.
The team is presently 12.5 games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves while sitting 6.5 games back in the wild card race. It is possible the team could make a run at one of the wild card spots yet there are a lot of teams to jump over.
Throughout 2019, the Mets excelled at being inconsistent. This was their downfall. Their bullpen is downright atrocious giving up leads late in games. They effectively turned wins into losses.
Last offseason saw a change in the trade deadlines. In previous years, the July 31st date only applied to players who were not passed through waivers. August 31st was the waiver wire deadline meaning that teams could send a guy through waivers and, if he cleared, he could be traded in August.
That is no longer the case. There are no trades to be done passed the July 31st date. All trades much be finalized before then.
Players with large contracts who were under performing typically made it through the waiver process. This held some attractions to teams especially if they could find some "lightening in a bottle" for a few weeks.
The Mets have a few candidates they could put on the block.
Zack Wheeler is the most attractive rental since he is a free agent at season's end. He pitched well this season and many teams are desperate for starting pitching, including the cross-town Yankees.
Todd Frazier put up terrific numbers the last two months and is similar to Wheeler being a free agent. Jason Vargas as a team option for 2020 and Wilson Ramos is under contract for next season, but both could be moved if the team desired.
The biggest name might be Noah Syndergaard who the Mets might be open to trading. They were willing to listen to offers this past offseason before deciding to hold onto him.
Regardless of what the Mets brass is saying, it is pretty obvious the Mets are going to move some players. There is little chance of the playoffs this season so the best approach is to start focusing upon 2020.