New York Mets: Was the Decision Not to Trade Jacob deGrom a Mistake?

Do the New York Mets need to rebuild? Can this club compete in 2019 with their current core of players? Now with a record of 44-63, one can only wonder about the Mets’ possible return from a blockbuster trade of their ace, Jacob deGrom.

Friday night, Jacob deGrom made his first start in the month of August. Once again, deGrom pitched well but once again, the New York Mets did not score for their superstar. For the season, deGrom now sits at 5-7 with 1.85 ERA. In his five starts against the Braves, deGrom has allowed four earned runs in 33 innings. The Mets are now 0-5 in those appearances.

Plenty of drama has and will continue to surround the Mets for the rest of their season. One of the dominating clouds over Queens will be questions of a potential rebuild. While management says that the club plans to compete in 2019, it is very reasonable to assume that this could change as a new General Manager will soon be hired. Could a rebuild be the inevitable conclusion to this New York Mets’ roster? Did the club make a mistake by not jump-starting the tear down by trading Jacob deGrom?

Personally, I believe the New York Mets could still compete without Jacob deGrom.

Much like 2017, 2018 has been a season full of injuries and underperformance for the Amazins’. The club sputtered after their blazing hot 11-1 start. As players started to go down with injuries, the Mets struggled to fill their holes as they lacked the necessary depth from within their minor league system. Bleacher Report recently ranked the Mets’ minor league system as 23rd in Major League Baseball.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Their red-hot start may be getting to my head, but I believe when healthy and clicking, this team has shown that they have the Major League talent to compete. Is a rebuild really necessary? Could an injection of talented big league ready prospects be the answer to the Mets’ problems?

Acquiring a package including an Alex Verdugo/Kyle Tucker type of player could facilitate the Mets’ decision to move Yoenis Cespedes to first base. In theory, this move to first base seems inevitable for Cespedes once he returns from his heel surgeries.

The San Diego Padres have also been rumored to be interested in Jacob. Who knows, the future of the Mets could be Fernando Tatis Jr. manning third base and Michel Baez rounding out the rotation.

This future of the New York “Mess” looks pretty bright in a very short amount of time. Trading Jacob deGrom could give the New York Mets enough young talent to “retool” this current roster. The only question is, would any team be willing to pay this price?