It has been a very long time since both the New York Yankees and New York Mets were both at the top at their respective leagues at the same time. As a result, the two clubs are both making additions to their teams and, as of early Thursday morning, they have been the only two teams to make big trades.
The Mets acquired first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates last Friday. The Yankees countered late on Wednesday night by acquiring left fielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.
The Mets have more areas that they have to address, especially because the Atlanta Braves have come roaring back into the NL East picture. Entering the month of June, they were still in second place in the NL East but they were 10.5 games behind the Mets and four games under .500. Now, the Braves are 18 games over .500 and just three games back of the Mets.
Here are three moves that the Mets must make to counter the Yankees’ acquisition of Benintendi.
Trade for Detroit Tigers reliever Andrew Chafin
The Mets bullpen has been very good overall, as their bullpen is in the top third of the league in ERA. However, they have been lacking a lot with left-handers.
David Peterson was doing well as a starter but in his last two outings, he has been used in relief. He has combined for 1.1 innings and he has allowed three runs (all earned). Joely Rodríguez has been the only other left-handed reliever and he has a 5.93 ERA in 34 games.
For the Tigers, Andrew Chafin has been great. In 37 appearances, the veteran left-handed reliever has a 2.53 ERA with a 2.22 FIP and an average of 2.8 walks and 11 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s exactly what they need in their bullpen.