While the New York Mets have committed to general manager Billy Eppler and skipper Buck Showalter for the remainder of the season, multiple players are reportedly now expecting their names to be floated in MLB trade rumors.
Heading into July, the Mets are outside of the MLB playoff picture and finished with one of the worst June records in the MLB standings. Since initial reports suggested New York could take on payroll this summer to improve its roster, there is now a growing buzz suggesting the club might be sellers at the deadline.
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The Mets have the highest payroll in MLB history but entered play on June 28 with a 36-44 record, ranking 20th in batting average and slugging while placing 25th in ERA and 24th in quality starts this season.
Now, a team that many viewed as a World Series contender entering the year, is facing uncertainty as it enters July. It’s led to multiple Mets players questioning whether or not they’ll even be on the team in August.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN’s MLB writer Joon Lee shared that one Mets’ player told him he’s now regretting a decision to rent a three-bedroom apartment because he now wonders if he’ll be traded.
“There is a definite sense of people thinking about the possibility of getting traded. I had a conversation with someone on the Mets, who before the season rented a three-bedroom apartment because he thought there was no chance that this team, come the trade deadline, would be out of playoff contention. And he was telling me, ‘We might be in a spot where I might kinda regret getting this massive apartment.”
ESPN’s Joon Lee on conversation with New York Mets player who thinks he might get traded
It’s a sentiment that multiple players in the clubhouse reportedly share. Lee also shared an account from another unidentified player, who said there have been conversations among teammates expressing their shared uncertainty regarding their future with the Mets.
“There was another conversation I had with a member of the Mets bullpen where they were just contemplating the fact that they might not be living in New York come two months from now. So that’s the general sense of the Mets clubhouse at the current moment. There’s a lot of guys thinking about the next couple of weeks, if the team does not perform, this team might not be together for very much longer.”
Joon Lee on New York Mets reliever feeling uncertain about his future
New York is nearly 20 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East, making a run for the division out of the question. Currently 8.5 games back of the third wild-card spot and double-digit games back of the to wild-card spots, the Mets’ front office might need to shift its approach to selling if the gap widens in the next three weeks.
