Heading into this year, injuries were seemingly the only thing that could derail the Mets‘ league-best pitching staff. Turns out, they have! In particular, the Mets have gotten practically nothing from Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, their pair of aces and arguably the best 1-2 tandem in the league. Through 38 games, the duo has combined for just 34.2 innings across seven starts. Verlander missed the first chunk of the season before returning last week, at which point Scherzer was suspended 10 games for illegal stickiness before immediately tweaking his neck when he returned. As such, the Mets have stumbled to a 18-20 record, in large part because it feels like a small miracle every time their pitching staff records an out—their collective 4.73 ERA is the fifth-worst in the National League. This mediocrity isn't tenable for a putative World Series contender—here are three trades the Mets can make fix their pitching woes.

1. Mets get: Corbin Burnes

Brewers get: Kevin Parada, Jett Williams, Mark Vientos, Cole Ziegler

Over the last two seasons, Burnes has been the best pitcher alive. In 2021, he won his first career Cy Young, leading the NL in ERA (2.43), FIP (1.63) and ranking third in strikeouts with 234. Last year, he was arguably even better, amping his workload above 200 innings for the first time and striking out 243 batters, the most in the NL. Basic common sense would dictate that the Brewers would be falling over themselves to extend Burnes, given that he's just 28 years old, has relatively a clean bill of health and, oh yeah, is incredible at baseball. Instead, the Brewers dragged him into a contentious arbitration hearing that “definitely hurt” his relationship with the team and where they blamed him for the team missing the playoffs. With Burnes set to enter free agency after next season, it's unlikely that he'll be a Brewer for much longer.

Whereas the Brewers are miserly and cheap, the Mets have spared no expense to acquire the best players possible; the prospect of Burnes' free agency isn't scary because they'll simply give him lots of money. By adding Burnes, the Mets would create a truly diabolical three-headed monster atop their rotation—a Burnes, Scherzer, Verlander trio would make the Mets essentially unbeatable in playoff series.

While the Mets would have to part with significant prospects to swing this deal (Parada is the 30th best prospect in the whole league while the other three are all amongst the ten best in the Mets' system), the Mets would be dealing from a possession of strength. Parada is blocked by Francisco Alvarez, the best prospect in baseball; the Mets' infield is set for the foreseeable future between Brett Baty, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor, leaving no room for Williams. Parting with top prospects hurts, but ultimately, the Mets could add a World Series-swinging pitcher in exchange for nebulous and uncertain future produciton.

If the asking price for Burnes is too steep, the Mets could also trade for Brandon Woodruff, another excellent Brewers pitcher, albeit one not quite on Burnes' level.

2. Mets get: Eduardo Rodriguez

Tigers get: Ronny Mauricio

After years of solid, if unspectacular, pitching, Tigers ace Eduardo Rodriguez looks like the best pitcher in the American League so far this year. Through eight games, his 1.57 ERA is more than two full runs lower than his previous career low and he's demonstrated greater command over his pitches; his 4.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio is by far his lowest ever. What's more, Rodriguez is on an exceedingly reasonable contract with just $49 million owed to him over the next three seasons—even if Rodriguez regresses to his previous level of performance, his deal is very fair and team friendly. Rodriguez would be particularly interesting for the Mets because, as a lefty, he would even out their rotation—for as talented as Verlander, Scherzer and, to a lesser extent, Kodai Senga are, the rotation is screaming out for a lefty option.

3.

Mets get: P/DH Shohei Ohtani

Angels get: C Kevin Parada, OF Alex Ramirez, SS Jett Williams, SS Ronny Mauricio, SP David Peterson, UTIL Luis Guillorme

Don't laugh. Yes, the Angels have said they won't trade Ohtani. Yes, trading for Ohtani would require the Mets to totally empty out their farm system. It's unlikely, I know. But under new owner Steve Cohen, the Mets haven’t been shy to make a splash—and trading for Ohtani would be the biggest splash of all. In the three seasons since he bought the team from the miserly Wilpons, Cohen has run up the biggest payroll in league history and has shown no indication of slowing down. In fact, last year’s Collective Bargaining Agreement instituted a new luxury tax apron that’s popularly known as the “Cohen Tax,” a transparent attempt from the other owners to try to limit his spending. So far, Cohen has been undeterred.

Ohtani is the best player in baseball and the biggest name in baseball. The Mets under Cohen are uber-determined to shed the idea that they're the second team in New York, the hapless little brother next to the Yankees' storied history. By landing Ohtani, the Mets would dispel that notion immediately.