Red Sox Rumors: Mets engaged Boston in trade talks about Zack Wheeler

By Sean Penney | Jul 8, 2019

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 06: Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets pitches during the fourth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on June 06, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly held discussions with the New York Mets about trading for right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler.

We’ve heard rumors that the Boston Red Sox plan to acquire a starting pitcher before the MLB trade deadline at the end of this month. Now it appears they are having discussions with a team in New York about a potential target.

No, not that New York team. The other one. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets have engaged the Red Sox about a deal for right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler.

Talks are only in the early stages but with the Mets 10 games below .500, Wheeler is a prime candidate to be dealt in the last year of his contract. He’s owed $5.975 million this season, more than half of which has already been paid by the Mets. The prorated amount remaining should fit into Boston’s tight budget.

Wheeler is 6-6 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.27 WHIP this season. Those certainly aren’t flashy numbers but they are serviceable for the back of the rotation spot that the Red Sox need to fill.

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The No. 5 starter has been a revolving door since Nathan Eovaldi hit the injured list. He’s heading to the bullpen when he returns after the break and the handful of other pitchers filling in during his absence have combined to go 2-7 with a 6.79 ERA. Wheeler is certainly an upgrade over that group.

There’s also reason for optimism that he can improve on this year’s results. Wheeler went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA last year and he owns a career 3.88 ERA. His strikeout rate (9.8 K/9) is a career high and his walk rate (2.6 BB/9) is the lowest of his career. Both are positive signs that his ERA will regress closer to his career level.

It’s unclear what the Mets would demand in return but their leverage is limited. They considered trading him at the deadline last year but balked at the offers they deemed insufficient. With Wheeler free to walk away after the season, they have to make the trade now or risk losing him for nothing.

The Mets have discussed Wheeler with other teams so there may be some competition but Boston appears to have shown the most interest so far. Adding more teams to the mix could raise the price but this is still a back end starter on an expiring contract. It won’t take a huge haul to acquire Wheeler so their depleted farm system shouldn’t keep the Red Sox out of the hunt.

Next. Relief pitcher trade targets. dark

Wheeler presumably isn’t the only pitcher the Red Sox are interested in but they want to act fast to fill the void in their rotation before they lose any more ground in the postseason race. With few teams ready to identify as sellers weeks before the deadline, Boston may decide that striking quickly is better than waiting to see what other options become available.

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