With the Mets being seven games under .500, 8.5 games back of the second Wild Card, and 13 games back of the Washington Nationals in the National League East, no one should be expecting the Mets to be buyers at the trade deadline.  However, that doesn’t mean the Mets shouldn’t be looking for ways to improve the 2018 roster.

Considering the Mets bullpen’s complete state of disrepair, and their best reliever, Addison Reed, being an impending free agent, the Mets should have been actively engaged in obtaining Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the Oakland Athletics.

Doolittle, 30, is having another good year out of the Athletics bullpen.  The left-hander has appeared in 23 games going 1-0 with three saves, a 0.656 WHIP, and a 13.1 K/9.  Left-handed hitters have yet to get a hit off of him, and right-handed hitters are hitting just .226/.255/.415 off of him.  Considering how good a reliever he is, his $4.38 million salary for next year is a bargain as is his two succeeding $6.0 and $6.5 million team options.

Madson, 36, has been the reliable reliever he has been his entire career.  In 40 appearances, he is 2-4 with a save, 2.06 ERA, 0.788 WHIP, and an 8.9 K/9.  He is due $7.7 million next year in what is the last year of his deal.  Considering the going rate of late inning relievers, Madson is well worth that money.

If the Mets were able to have two former closers in Doolittle and Madson join Jeurys Familia at the back-end of the Mets bullpen, it would have created six inning games.  Their bullpen would have gone from one of the worst in the majors to one of the best.  It would have been the biggest move the Mets could’ve made towards reshaping the 2018 roster to being one capable of being a World Series contender.

Considering the Mets could have easily matched what the Nationals gave up for the relievers, the Mets could have at least driven up the price the Nationals paid for them.  This would have hindered the Nationals from making deals this season and the next.

Instead, Doolittle and Madson are Nationals without the team having to overpay for the relievers like most teams have to do at the trade deadline.  This should all but solidify a National League East that was never truly in doubt, and it is going to make it all the more difficult for the Mets to compete with the Nationals for the National Leauge East title next year.

If the Mets really have designs on winning the World Series next year, they need to be looking at deals like this at the trade deadline.  The fact the team isn’t should be very disconcerting for everyone.