The disappointing New York Mets became sellers late Thursday night when they traded closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins.
SNY’s Andy Martino reported Friday that “one source with knowledge of the Mets’ thinking” believes the franchise will be “busy” dumping other players before Tuesday’s trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean advertised co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are going anywhere anytime soon.
“The Mets are willing to talk about Verlander when other teams ask, but have not yet come close to asking the veteran to waive his no-trade clause,” Martino explained. “The team values what Verlander could contribute in 2024, and believe Verlander and his family to be happy in New York.”
Martino was responding to Mark Feinsand of the MLB website, who reported Thursday night that “two major league executives” told him that “there is a belief within the industry that the Mets could very well move” Verlander ahead of the trade deadline.
The 40-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner signed a two-year, $86.66M contract that includes a vesting third-year option worth $35M to join the Mets in December and has repeatedly made it known to anyone who will listen this summer that he is committed to helping the Mets pursue a World Series title beyond just this season. It’s worth noting that Feinsand and others have mentioned that Mets owner Steve Cohen would have to pay down a significant portion of Verlander’s contract to land top-tier prospects in a trade.
Scherzer, meanwhile, inked a three-year, $130M deal with the Mets shortly after the 2021 season and isn’t expected to opt out of that contract after the ongoing campaign due to his performances since this past spring. Heading into Friday’s MLB action, the 39-year-old was 8-4 but also had a 4.20 ERA across 18 starts and 100.2 innings of work.
“Scherzer is less likely to move (than Verlander as of Friday),” Martino said. “The reason is simple: Clubs scouting him have been less than impressed with the quality of his stuff.”
The Mets remain responsible for baseball’s most expensive squad and are widely expected to at least explore signing Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani assuming he reaches free agency this fall. Trading Robertson, who is on a one-year deal, doesn’t impact the Mets beyond what’s already a lost season, but moving on from Verlander and/or Scherzer would indicate that ownership fears the club won’t be ready to compete by next March. Such a mindset could remove the Mets from the Ohtani sweepstakes before they begin.
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