LATAEST NEWS: Mets take advantage of Blue Jays Payroll to trade for relief pitcher

The Mets should consider absorbing a problematic Blue Jays contract to reduce the expense of acquiring a relief pitcher.

How much financial power will the New York Mets display at this year’s trade deadline? As expected buyers rather than sellers, they might help other teams by absorbing bad contracts, even if those deals become dead money soon after.

One team that might be looking to reduce payroll is the Toronto Blue Jays. MLB Trade Rumors detailed their payroll situation and the goal of staying below the competitive balance tax. It’s unclear what their trade deadline strategy will be—whether they’ll focus on acquiring top prospects like the Mets or shedding salary to better position themselves for next offseason.

Regardless, the Mets should be willing to take on a bad contract if it means acquiring a Blue Jays reliever. Welcome to Queens, Kevin Kiermaier.

Kevin Kiermaier plus a Blue Jays relief pitcher at a lower prospect price is a direction for the Mets to consider

Since the season is now past the halfway mark, the Mets would only need to pay Kiermaier less than half of his $10.5 million salary. Despite his unimpressive .189 batting average, his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense makes him worth considering given the Mets’ current outfield situation. DJ Stewart isn’t performing well, and Ben Gamel has been rarely used. Although Kiermaier’s presence would overlap with Harrison Bader, making it essential to part ways if he doesn’t improve his hitting. This season, he’s been terrible against lefties, going just 5 for 35. As a bench player only effective against right-handed pitchers, the Mets might even consider trading him to a team needing a late-inning defensive replacement.

Kiermaier recently cleared waivers because no team wanted to take on his contract, but a trade scenario is different. Pairing him with relievers like Trevor Richards, Yimi Garcia, Genesis Cabrera, or another Blue Jays reliever could be tempting. The Blue Jays, with multiple tradable players, might use one to shed some salary.

A bolder but less realistic option would be for the Mets to acquire one of the Blue Jays’ higher-salaried starting pitchers like Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, or Kevin Gausman. Although the Mets aren’t rumored to be interested in a starting pitcher, Steve Cohen’s club could handle the additional salary.

More realistically, the Blue Jays might trade one of their relievers to the Mets for a smaller prospect package if the Mets take on Kiermaier’s contract. While moving Justin Turner might be challenging with the Mets having no need for him, the Blue Jays could reduce their Competitive Balance Tax by accepting a modest prospect return for a reliever.