Jacob deGrom is injured, and it’s significant. He has a stress reaction in his scapula which will shit him down for four weeks.

Keep in mind, being shut down for four weeks means he’s out longer than that. After that he needs to rehab and/or ramp back up putting the timetable closer to two months.

The good news is the New York Mets were prepared for this. Finally, they have the depth within the organization to sustain an injury to any of their starting pitchers, deGrom included.

With Max Scherzer, the Mets have a true ace atop their rotation even in deGrom’s absence. After him is Chris Bassitt, who is a very strong number two. We also know Taijuan Walker is a solid back of the rotation starter who showed he could actually be more than that.

After that, when healthy, Carlos Carrasco is a top of the rotation pitcher. If not, he’s a serviceable starter. At this point, we look towards the Mets depth.

Trevor Megill showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie year. Of course, he hit a rookie wall and tailed off significantly. Still, he’s looked great this spring, and he appears ready to at least be a middle of the rotation starter now.

Right there, the Mets have a very good starting five. That’s even before they have deGrom. In fact, that’s still one of the best in baseball.

It’s better when you consider David Peterson and Jose Butto will be in Triple-A. That’s seven pitchers. That’s quality depth before you get to deGrom returning or someone else emerging.

Now, can the Mets get more depth? Absolutely. Time and again, you see you can never have enough depth. That goes double for pitching and really for the Mets.

That said, there’s a difference between INVESTIGATING depth and DESPERATELY NEEDING depth.

The rumors from The Athletic the Mets have talked with the San Diego Padres about a trade centered around Chris Paddack and Eric Hosmer for Dominic Smith is well past panic.

Flat out, Hosmer is bad. He’s accumulated a 2.7 WAR in four years with the Padres. Aside from the pandemic season, his offense is replacement level. Aside from last year, his defense has been putrid with a -10 OAA in 2018 and 2019.

Better yet, Hosmer has a horrendous contract. He’s due to make $13 million in each of the next three seasons carrying him through his age 35 season.

Paddack is interesting. He had success his rookie year. He struggled since and had Tommy John. In the right hands, and Jeremy Hefner is the right hands, you could have a very good starter.

Paddack is an acceptable piece to take back in a salary dump deal. We know how those deals are supposed to work. You get the piece in Paddack and the bad contract, and in return, you give little to nothing back.

If you’re the Mets, that’s a player like J.D. Davis. He has no position. His stats are buttressed by an unsustainable BABIP and success mostly generated with a juiced ball. He’s got just two more years of control. This is exactly who you move.

Instead, the Mets are talking Dom. It’s nonsense. We know Smith is their best defensive first baseman, and he can fake it in left field when needed. We’ve seen he can hit, and his down year was attributable to injury.

Smith came to spring ready to play, and he’s impressed. He’s earned a starting job (again). You don’t trade him for a salary dump and pitching project.

That’s a Brodie Van Wagenen trade. As an aside, it makes even less sense to obtain Hosmer when you’re a team saddled with Robinson Cano.

Overall, yes, inquire on Paddack. You do that regardless of deGrom’s shoulder. Absolutely, go out and be a big market team and absorb a bad contract to get Paddack cheaper. That said, under no circumstances do you panic and include Smith in that trade.