MLB Trade Deadline: Is a Felipe Vazquez deal worth it?

It is readily apparent that Edwin Diaz and Felipe Vazquez are excellent relief pitchers and are coveted by nearly every contender. However, their level of production and years of control may make their price too steep come the MLB Trade Deadline.

Modern-day MLB – particularly in the postseason – is played in the bullpen. A team relies too heavily on its bullpen, starters struggle to get enough outs, not enough of a cushion is provided, but the bullpen will always be there to either earn victory or defeat for a team.

The Mets are an average, team when their starters are producing they can be above average. However, they have been beset by an inconceivably dreadful bullpen in 2019. Their collection of relievers has completely and utterly done them in during a season where being slightly above average may be good enough. The only thing that has been consistent about that group is their ability to blow leads.

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The lesson here is that in the modern game of MLB an ineffective bullpen is the death of the team. Regardless of how resilient the club is as a whole, they could never outplay their bullpen’s deficiencies.

Perhaps 15 years ago an MLB team could find their way around this. Every team- good rotation or bad, prolific or meager offense- needs a certain amount of difficult outs from their relievers. This is doubly true in October, as tensions are ramped up so must the pitcher’s resolve.

The Dodgers have been an AL team among an overbearingly mediocre NL in 2019. That is to say, they have dominated, while most NL teams have been entrenched in the chaotic middle, bouncing between playoff position and a below .500 record.

All the while LA likely will be staring the fate of a World Series loss straight in the face, unless some kind of change is made. I certainly can think of worse fates, however, the Dodgers front office is not like to have that mindset. They need a key piece to make the game more even- they have to be anticipating a face-off with the Astros or Yankees.

The inefficiency of their bullpen nearly cost them a Wolrd Series berth in 2018, it seems to have gotten worse this season. Therefore, if a significant upgrade is not made to the bullpen, they may not find themselves playing as deep into October as they would like.

The issue with trading for either Edwin Diaz or Felipe Vazquez is that the Mets and Pirates, respectively, will request Gavin Lux the elite SS prospect in return. If there is one thing the Robinson Cano-Diaz trade has taught the collective us, is that top prospects cannot be traded for relievers. Dealing for either of them will not come with the repercussions of a Cano contract, however, relievers are volatile and that must be taken under advisement by front offices.

When relievers are involved some prospects must be considered untouchable. They can still find a solid return, but not the type of return the Pirates and likely the Mets are insisting upon.

Shane Greene, Scott Oberg, Jake McGhee, Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garret, and Ian Kennedy are just a few names that should be considered. They can take two of these names and greatly improve their overall bullpen depth at a cheaper price.

Any team pursuing these pitchers must realize that if the price does not go down quickly it is not likely to before the deadline. These players have many years of control thus they will have the same exact value in the offseason or at next year’s deadline.