This Player Will be on the Trade Block if the Mets Get Off to a Slow Start in 2020

The New York Mets finished 2019 tied for the hottest team in baseball over the final 60 games. Unfortunately, this was not enough to overcome their early season failures. Now with 60 games on tap in the 2020 regular season, the Mets know they have to keep that hot streak going and get off to a quick start if they want to factor into the playoffs this season.

If things don't go as planned early on, the Mets might look to ship away an asset or two while they still can. They have at least nine players scheduled to hit free agency in 2021, including a man they traded for last year at the deadline, Marcus Stroman.

Many believe the starting pitcher was acquired to eventually replace Zack Wheeler in 2020. New York knew Wheeler would likely price them out on the open market, and Stroman was a similar type of talent that was more cost efficient. Now after the Noah Syndergaard injury, Stroman is the number two starter heading into the shortened season.

The former Toronto Blue Jay pitched decently with the Mets in 2019, going 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA over 11 starts, but he wasn't spectacular. That showing was on par with Stroman's career ERA of 3.76, although his 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings over the final stretch was higher than usual.

If he doesn't get off to a strong start, or the Mets find themselves as underdogs in the playoff race, it could make a lot of sense to trade Stroman rather than just wait for him to become a free agent.

Teams always need extra starting pitching, especially with the looming threat of a Covid-19 outbreak during a playoff run. If it's not happening for the Mets in 2020, they will likely look to save face and get a similar return back for Stroman that they gave to Toronto in the first place (prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson).

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Michael Obermuller is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Michael Obermuller also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username king_mizzard. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.