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Don’t expect any big splashes from Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen before next Monday’s trade deadline. Van Wagenen, who traded prospects for Marcus Stroman at last year’s deadline, said Monday he expected a quieter deadline around MLB — and in Queens, as teams figure to be cautious due to the uncertainty of the season. …
Don’t expect any big splashes from Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen before next Monday’s trade deadline.
Van Wagenen, who traded prospects for Marcus Stroman at last year’s deadline, said Monday he expected a quieter deadline around MLB — and in Queens, as teams figure to be cautious due to the uncertainty of the season.
“We’re gonna be very careful,” Van Wagenen said Monday in a Zoom call. “I think the aggressive approach we’ve taken in the past is not something we will eliminate from a possibility, but we recognize we’ve got a 30-game season effectively — less than that — once the trade deadline comes and goes and so we have to be responsible for the future of the organization and still be opportunistic in ways to improve the club.”
The Mets were coming off three straight wins and climbed to within two games of .500 when they received news of the two positive COVID tests, which postponed the final game in Miami as well as a three-game series against the banged-up Yankees in The Bronx.
Van Wagenen is hoping the return from the IL of Michael Wacha and David Peterson from shoulder injuries will bolster the rotation and Jake Marisnick coming back from a strained left hamstring will provide outfield depth.
“We feel we have a number of players who could be trade deadline-type acquisitions for us,” Van Wagenen said.
And that’s leading him to be cautious.
“We’re not gonna feel like we’re in tremendous pressure to make a move just for the sake of making a move,’’ Van Wagenen said. “We feel like we’ve got some depth on the team. We feel like we’ve got some guys returning to health that can help us and if there’s something to do in the short term that gives us some degree of upgrade over a particular position, we’ll look to do it. But we’re not gonna do it at the sacrifice of our long term goals.”
They’ve had discussions both internally and with other teams, but Van Wagenen said they have primarily been to get an early read on what other organizations have and are looking to do.
“That process has started, but we don’t have anything on the horizon at this point,” Van Wagenen said.
Because of how fragile this season is, Van Wagenen said he didn’t expect a short-term rental bringing much of a haul — and it will have other effects on the deadline, as well.
“First and foremost, we experienced even with these two positive tests, how quickly needs might change or players or coaches or roles might need to be filled,” the GM said. “Add on to that the inevitable injuries guys face on a daily basis, so there’s always gonna be a lot of transactions that take place that are unexpected. What our needs are as a team at any point in time could change quickly between now and the end of the month.”
