I think we dropped the ball…

[Centerfield]

…by not mentioning Luis Castillo as a trade possibility. Ken Rosenthal says the Mets are among the teams that have checked in.

He makes money. Under contract for the next three years at $24M each. Vesting option for 2028. 31 years old.

I don’t really know much about him but his stats suggest he’s a solid, dependable mid 3 ERA starter.

[Fman99]

Clever post title, well done

[metirish]

Yes, very clever

[Frayed Knot]

Takes the ball regularly which is always a good thing: 31, 32, 12 (Covid yr), 33, 25, 33, and 30 starts since his first full season in 2018
Decent WHIP numbers as well.

[MFS62]

Definitely worth kicking the tires on a trade.
Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

Rosenthal says the Mariners want players who will help them win in 2025. None of the Mets top prospects really fit that description. And I don't expect the Mets would be trading pitching. So who does that leave? Marte and McNeil, but both are questionable for one reason or another. Baty? Nimmo? (Does he have a no-trade?) Alvarez? Vientos??? I'm not sure what kind of a deal would make sense.

[Gwreck]

The Mets don’t match well with a team looking for immediate talent.

In theory, Vientos is the sort of player that fits that description…but then the Mets would have to sign someone else to fill the offensive void created by moving him. Is Bergman/Castillo a better option than Vientos/Manaea? Probably not.

[Edgy MD]

I think they could match up well.

In Nimmo and McNeil they have two seasoned players under multi-year contracts who plug in at more than one position, but have diminishing and/or uncertain roles with the Mets going forward.

If a team is working on the cheap, Baty and Mauricio still have their pedigree and potential to contribute over a career, but have been overtaken on the Mets by prospects coming up alongside them or behind them.

Somewhere between those two differing types of expendability is Tylor Megill, a little of one, a little of another, and just wishing a team could give him 30 starts to show what he can do over the long haul.

As always, I'm not advocatin', just observin'.

[Gwreck]

Nimmo has neither a diminishing nor an uncertain role with the team.

[Edgy MD]

Well, I'm uncertain about it.

As for diminishing, his OPS fell over 100 points last season, he finished the year hurt, and they added perhaps the best corner outfielder on the planet to the lineup. Even had he had a good and healthy season, that nudges everybody aside at least a little.

[smg58]

I like Castillo, but I'm concerned that teams are overpaying for front-end pitching right now. It's a catch-22. I don't know if anybody who's splurged on pitching is going to get their money's worth, but you don't want to get stuck with mediocrity in the rotation either.

[ashie62]

We need a pitcher not a hairy Montas itcher

Seriously, the Mets have plenty of talent to get something done here or elsewhere. They just do

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm confident that there will be at least one or two significant moves before (or during) spring training. What those moves will be, of course, remains to be seen.

I expect at least one everyday position player and one or two pitchers.