The first half of the Major League Baseball season is in the books for our beloved Yankees and Mets and it appears both teams (at the moment) are going in different directions. With baseball’s trade deadline looming, it is expected that both teams will be active in improving their ball clubs in hopes for a playoff or lengthy playoff run in October.
The New York Mets came out the gates in the 2018 campaign with a winning swagger that had the team atop of the National League East Division. The team’s early first-place performance had many Met fans thinking quite high about the team making the playoffs in what is expected to be several teams including the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals who are in the same division as the Mets jockeying for playoff position. Since then, the Mets, as a team, has endured some rough times due to key injuries to a few of their top players. Top players such as Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard and Todd Frazier have served some time on the team’s disabled list. The injuries have caught up to the Mets where they have fallen down to fourth place in the NL East. It is unknown whether Mets management will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. There are many needs they need to address to compete with the top-tier teams in the NL. They can also be sellers and acquire some top prospects and continue to build for the future.
For the Yankees, the team currently holds the second-best record in all of baseball despite being four games back of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East Division. We all know too well about the Yankees dominant offensive lineup, which currently leads the league in most home runs. The Achilles’ heel for the Bronx Bombers has been their starting pitching. With the exception of their young ace pitcher Luis Severino, the team’s starting pitching has been just about average and inconsistent at the same time. There have been rumors of the Yankees showing interest in Mets ace pitchers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, both of whom would be a huge upgrade for the Yankees pitching staff. The question is, “What will be the Mets asking price if they were to agree to trade deGrom or Syndergaard?” The Yankees are in a good predicament to offer a trade to the Mets for a deGrom considering the Yankees minor league farm system is absolutely loaded with talent.
The trade deadline is July 31. How will the Yankees and Mets roster look as both teams attempt to make a strong 2nd –half push towards playoff ball in October. Stay tuned!
Sports Notes: For up-to-date rumors and acquisitions on baseball trades leading to the July 31 trade deadline, E-mail me at Castroeddie714@gmail.com. See which big players go where or tell me what moves would you like your team to make.