Mets could make colossal mistake with most likely trade candidate in 7.71 ERA starter

The New York Mets are in the middle of a disastrous season, with the 13-22 record they are sporting, and a few days into May, already a disaster.

But, things could get a whole lot worse, so much so that they wind up trading away players at the MLB Trade Deadline. While it's possible, the Mets might be more likely to double down and try to trade for players.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller named the Mets' most likely trade candidate, and it was a 7.71 ERA pitcher in Jonah Tong.

"New York Mets: Jonah Tong," Miller writes. "It's more likely they'll trade away their top prospect in hopes of resolving whatever the biggest roster hole is three months from now."

Miller believes the Mets are more likely to trade someone like Tong than Freddy Peralta. While it's not a bad idea in theory, this move could be a colossal mistake for the Mets.

Mets could make colossal mistake with Jonah Tong as most likely trade chip

New York could surely get something decent back for Tong, as the 22-year-old right-hander has made just five starts in his big-league career with a 7.71 ERA and is under club control through 2031.

But this kind of move would be a mistake. With the Mets very likely to miss the postseason this year, trading a young pitcher like Tong for a rental asset or expensive veteran would be a major waste.

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The only way Tong could be traded for a veteran player and it not be a mistake would be if the Mets are back in the postseason hunt by August 3rd. That's not very likely for this Mets team that has some major issues right now.

Trading Tong, a young pitcher with plenty of upside, to try to salvage a disastrous season would have a chance of not working out in 2026, and it could set the team back for the future as well.

If they were a top team, trading Tong would make sense. But, as things stand now, trading Tong has a chance to be a colossal mistake.

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