The New York Mets are struggling to
finish the job. A day after failing to acquire Carlos Gomez from the Milwaukee
Brewers, the Mets collapsed against the San Diego
Padres on Thursday at Citi Field.
Curtis Granderson gave the Mets a
six-run cushion with a three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth. Leading 7-1
in the top of the seventh, reliever Bobby Parnell surrendered a leadoff double to
pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso, a one-out walk to pinch-hitter Brett Wallace and a
single to the ensuing batter, Melvin Upton Jr., before getting replaced by
Hansel Robbles. The right-handed reliever gave up a grand slam to Derek Nooris,
the first batter Robbles saw.
On the verge of victory with a 7-5
advantage in the top half of the ninth, Mother Nature hit the Mets with an
untimely dose of heavy rain. Jeurys Familia recorded two quick outs before a
torrential downpour stopped play. Low and behold, Familia couldn’t close out
the game for the Mets after the 44-minute rain delay. He allowed back-to-back
singles to Nooris and Matt Kemp, before Justin Upton launched a three-run homer
to right center field.
Play was paused for two hours and 52
minutes before the Mets got up in the bottom frame. New York failed to make a
comeback though, as Craig Kimbrel pitched a one-two-three ninth for his 39th
save that gave San Diego an improbable 8-7 win.
Now trailing the Washington
Nationals by three games in the NL East following its crushing defeat, the Mets
are in search of a bat on Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline to bolster their
weak lineup.
Is Cincinnati Reds’ Jay Bruce the solution
to the Mets’ hitting woes? The Reds and Mets are reportedly deep into trade
talks that would send the 28-year-old outfielder to New York. Bruce is hitting .257 with
a .341 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage. Bruce, owed
$12.5 million next season with a $13 million team option for 2017, has 17 home
runs and 56 RBIs this season.
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| The Mets are hoping to acquire Jay Bruce at the non-waiver trade deadline. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images) |
The Mets may have to relinquish Zach
Wheeler to the Reds in order to complete the trade. Wheeler, 28, is rehabbing
from Tommy John surgery and will not be available to pitch until June 2016. In
two seasons in the big leagues, Wheeler has posted a 18-16 record with a 3.50
ERA, a 1.34 WHIP and 271 strikeouts in 285.1 innings pitched.
A young pitching quartet of Matt
Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz makes Wheeler expendable
in the eyes of the Mets front office.
A lack of power makes the potential
deal for Bruce enticing. The Mets lack pop in their lineup—only Lucas Duda
(18), Granderson (16) and Wilmer Flores (10) have double-digit home run totals on the season.
Already acquiring Kelly Johnson and
Juan Uribe last weekend via trades, the Mets have shown their desire to improve
their feeble offense. The Mets would like to land San Diego's Justin Upton or the Detroit Tigers' Yoenis
Cespedes, both of whom are on the trade block, but neither star is eligible for
a qualifying offer after this season, making the trade a risky move for the Mets.
Devoid the qualifying offer option, the Mets wouldn’t recover a draft pick from
Upton or Cespedes if they were to leave through free agency after the season.
Bruce would be under team control
through next season, an apparent requirement for a player the Mets plan to
acquire.
The Nationals are heading to town
for a three-game series at Citi Field. This weekend could be critical in determining
the fate of the 2015 Mets, who not only are in need of a series victory over
their divisional rivals but also must acquire an impactful bat...a la Jay Bruce.
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