Last summer, the Mets understandably almost traded Zack Wheeler. They thought they were getting Carlos Gomez, an All Star Gold Glove CF with another year of control. They were trying to make a playoff run by trading an injured pitcher. Ironically, the deal fell apart due to Gomez’s, not Wheeler’s, medical records. 

Once the trade was undone, it seemed like the Mets were primed to create an even deeper super rotation. The only thing that stands in that way is the amount of holes this Mets team has coupled with the financial constraints.  The Mets have roughly $18 million in the budget to get a second baseman and a shortstop. Depending on your point of view, the Mets also need a centerfielder and a reliever. Good luck filling all of those needs with that little money. 

If you want to do it, you’re going to have to make a trade or two. With the Mets unloading their best trade chips, they’re going to have to trade from their major league talent pool to improve their roster. Everyone wants the Mets young pitching. Perhaps the best way to do that would be to trade Wheeler. He’s still highly regarded, but he also wasn’t there for the run to the World Series.  Only the Mets say they’re not shopping him. 

That’s what they say. In actuality, they are shopping Wheeler around to teams. Here was Assistant GM John Ricco’s quote about the prospect of trading Wheeler:

We’re not actively shopping Zack by any stretch. But as with the other starters, if something came up that we thought would make us better, we’re going to talk about it. 

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If there’s a deal that we think really makes us better, I can’t say we would [trade Wheeler again]. 

Here’s the thing about these quotes: there have been no Wheeler trade rumors. None!  This is a salvo from the Mets to let people know they Wheeler is there for the taking . . . again. 

It’s a smart move. He’s probably at his peak value. People remember his terrific stuff. They just saw the Mets young pitching go to the World Series. Wheeler was good enough to fetch an All Star CF with a reasonable contract last year, and that was when Wheeler was at least a year away.   

Wheeler hasn’t had a set back during his rehab. He hasn’t come back and faltered. Neither of these may happen, but they are certainly possibilities.  It’s also important to remember that Wheeler has a wealth of talent, but he has only been an average pitcher. 

With that said, it’s a good time to shop Wheeler to see if you can get even more than the All Star CF they were set to obtain. This was the first time Wheeler’s name has been mentioned by anyone as a trade candidate. You’ll probably start to hear it a lot more. The Mets put his name out there to field offers. 

They should start coming in. That’s what happens when you shop a player around. That’s what the Mets started doing by saying they’d consider trading him.