Following from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com early Friday afternoon, Heyman reported that the New York Mets are reportedly interested in both Carlos Gomez and Justin Upton. With the trade deadline being two weeks away and the Mets being in desperate need of a bat, this news comes as no surprise that they are shopping for hitters.
Carlos Gomez, 29, is currently batting .273 with 8 home runs and 41 RBIs. Gomez, who was part of the trade that brought Johan Santana to the Mets in 2008, would be a welcoming face to the Mets’ anemic offense. Not only would Gomez bring his power and ability to drive in runs, but he also brings the Mets much needed speed to place at the top of their lineup. Gomez had 34 stolen bases last season, something the Mets are missing after losing Eric Young Jr. to the Braves.
On the other hand, Justin Upton, 27, is batting .253 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. While Upton’s stats seem good on the surface, in the month of July he is batting just .118. A streaky hitter may pose a problem in a lineup that struggles to score runs to begin with. One thing to keep in mind, however, is how he and David Wright are very good friends, much like Wright and Michael Cuddyer are. The Mets and Upton were tied to each in rumors before he was traded to the Braves in 2013. Upton will be a free agent after this season.
The Mets are loaded with pitching. While they will most likely not be willing to part with one of their top guns in any of these deals, they certainly have the prospects to package together to get one of these all-stars. One would thing a deal could center around Rafael Montero and Jonathan Niese; both the Brewers and the Padres could use starting pitching. It will be interesting in the coming weeks to see if the Mets look to improve their team and become buyers in order to finish above .500 for the first time since 2008.
