NY Mets Roster: Too early top 4 winter trade candidates

The New York Mets had one of their most active offseasons this past winter. This was especially true when it comes to trades. If you look back at the last decade, the offseason wasn’t generally when they made their biggest swaps.

There are exceptions to this. The current club is built with several players brought to the organization via trade. However, a good majority were either originally drafted by the organization or came to Queens via free agency.

I suspect this upcoming offseason will include a notable trade or two regardless of the way the season ends. The Mets are clearly an imperfect team which means improving the roster by any means necessary. I’ll create an updated list once the season is officially over, we regroup, and have a greater picture of what’s next whether it be a massive selloff or a parade.

As it stands, with less than a month to go, these are the four Mets players you should have penciled in as potential offseason trade candidates.

4) NY Mets trade candidate Edwin Diaz

It’s only in the last few days I have come to realize Edwin Diaz’s future may not be in the colors blue and orange. The closer brought in by Brodie Van Wagenen to make a difference starting in 2019 has not been the dominant finisher the club has needed. Better than some claim yet worse than his adoring fans, Diaz is a guy you can trust to gut out a brilliant two months then fall apart for two straight weeks.

While some trade value remains, I can see the Mets shopping him heavily as they look to overhaul the bullpen further and maybe get the most out of some other guys already locked into contracts. The team has some candidates already with the club. Trevor May could step into the closer’s role as could Seth Lugo—the latter maybe on a more temporary basis.

One other candidate, and it’s a long shot, would be to see them turn Noah Syndergaard into a reliever full-time. I don’t think Thor would have this in his plans for 2022 but if all else fails in his attempt to return as a starter, it’s a thought.

Diaz is set to hit free agency after the 2022 season along with a few other notable Mets players. Valuing a closer is never easy, especially one with as many hiccups as Diaz. I don’t think he will get traded but I do expect his name to appear in plenty of winter rumors.