Starting Pitching Trade Targets

Posted by Patrick Gorman 11/22/2023

Today's blog is going to focus on trade options that the Mets can look into via trade. It is a strong possibility that the Mets can whiff on Yamamoto, but there are many intriguing arms that they can focus on to bulk up this pitching staff. Here are four high level pitchers that the Mets can target via trade.

Dylan Cease

The White Sox were an unmitigated disaster this past season. The rosters that they have had the past couple years have underperformed to the point where they are listening to offers for everyone on the roster to start the rebuilding process. Which means that White Sox ace Dylan Cease is available to acquire. Cease is coming off a down year posting a 4.58 ERA striking out 214 batters while throwing 177 innings. Cease's ERA is inflated due to the fact that the White Sox were not a great defensive team. Dylan Cease would be a shot in the arm to this rotation while making over 30 starts and striking out over 200 batters since 2021. However, it would take a lot of our top prospects for this deal to be a reality due to Cease being under control until 2026.

Shane Bieber

Rumors have been swirling around this off-season that the Cleveland Guardians are ready to move on from former CY Young winner Shane Bieber. Bieber according to spotrac is set to make 12.2 million dollars in his final arb year before becoming a free agent. Bieber is a very intriguing option since he won't cost much prospect wise since he is set to hit the market in 2025 and when he is right Bieber can be a number one starter on almost every MLB team right now. The only red flag that I see is that this past season he was dealing with elbow inflammation which cost him to miss a chunk of time.

Corbin Burnes

With David Stearns leaving to the Mets and Craig Counsell going to the Cubs for greener pastures it is almost certain that the Brewers will be looking to try and trade away some pieces to rebuild. Corbin Burnes has been one of the games top elite starting pitchers in baseball right now and the Brewers may be looking to maximize that value by getting back top talent for him. Burnes like Cease has been durable the past three years logging over 150 innings, striking out over 200 batters, and making over 30 starts with Cy Young to put the cherry on top. With the David Stearns connection I think the Mets can definitely try and strike a deal. The cost will be high, but with Cohen's checkbook they can take on Christian Yelich's contract to bring down the price prospect wise. With the combination of durability and fit I think Burnes is the best option out of everyone on the list.

Tyler Glasnow

This pitcher just makes too much sense for the Mets. Yes that is right Cillian Murphy's twin Tyler Glasnow is being shopped heavy by the Tampa Bay Rays due to his whopping 25 million dollars that he is owed next year. That price tag makes it a match made in heaven for the Mets because they can just take on that salary in whole so that they can give up minimal prospects to Tampa. A lot of Met fans on X are very conservative on making this deal for many reasons. For starters, they don't want to be the victims of a classic Rays fleece job and why take on that salary when he can barely stay on the field. The most innings he has ever thrown was this past year and that was 120 innings. However, the reward is quite enticing because when he is pitching he has one of the best stuff in baseball. Before being sidelined with Tommy John in 2021 Glasnow was on pace to win the AL Cy Young Award posting a 2.66 ERA with 123 strikeouts in 88 innings. I would be very hesitant to strike a deal because he simply can't stay on the field.