The MLB trade deadline is going to be here before you know it and some teams are already working the phones.
One team that might be in need of a dramatic shakeup is the New York Mets. The Mets are 16.5 games back of first place in the NL East and 8.5 games back of a wild card spot with their 36-43 record through 79 games. And it doesn’t look like things are going to get any better.
Max Scherzer reportedly would consider waiving his no-trade clause if the Mets’ struggles continue and he is someone that should draw a lot of interest from contenders around the league.
Rob Bradford, Pat Brown, and Nat "Gordo" Gordon of the Audacy Original Podcast "Baseball Isn't Boring" discussed the idea of Scherzer returning to Arizona for one of the Diamondbacks' top pitching prospects.
To Diamondbacks: Max Scherzer and Mark Canha
To Mets: Brandon Pfaadt
The season is getting away from the Mets and fast. They’ve already shown that they’re willing to eat some money in trades and that’s what they would need to do here to make the salaries work with the young prospect from Arizona.
The Mets have one of the oldest starting rotations in the league and don’t really have any top pitching prospects waiting in the wings. Pfaadt would immediately fill that gap and likely start for the Mets before the end of the season.
Essentially, it would be the Mets buying a prospect from the Diamondbacks while giving Arizona half a season of Canha (a free agent this offseason) and a year-and-a-half of Scherzer, who has a lucrative player option for 2024.
But it takes two to tango and this may need more convincing on the Arizona side of things.
Pfaadt is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball at 24th overall according to MLB.com’s top 100 prospects list. He got a taste of the majors last month with four starts of varying success. That hasn’t really impacted his overall status as a prospect though as the 24-year-old hurler shows plenty of promise.
The deciding factor for the Diamondbacks may be if they want to go all-in this season. The NL West was supposed to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball with the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants among the contenders. Those three teams are in contention, sure, but Arizona holds a 2.5-game lead over San Francisco through 80 games.
If the Diamondbacks want to grasp that opportunity with a sense of urgency, trading for an ace like Scherzer could be a great move. They already have NL Cy Young Award candidate Zac Gallen and Scherzer would give them a terrific one-two punch for the playoffs.
Scherzer started his career in Arizona way back in 2008. Maybe he wants to go full circle and chase a ring with the Diamondbacks.
Who says no?
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