According to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, the Mets are getting ready to deal one of Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee, or Jonathon Niese.
The Mets are well known to have a surplus of pitching. They currently have at least six starting pitchers that could be used in their rotation. According to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, the Mets are "actively" looking to deal at least one of the "bottom three" of the rotation: Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee, or Jonathon Niese.
Despite the recent activity of the free agent and trade markets, the market for pitchers has progressed very slowly so far this offseason. The Mets are hoping that will change in the near future:
..and they are hopeful that next week's winter meetings clears up some of the pitching gridlock slowing down all teams interested in acquiring or dealing arms.
All of the front-line starters, like Max Scherzer and Jon Lester, are still available. However, many teams that cannot afford these big-money free agents could use upgrades in their rotations. Although a "blockbuster" deal is probably not in the works, the Mets are trying to trim down their rotation to upgrade their club:
None of the three is likely to bring back a particularly robust return. Instead, giving up a veteran arm could help the Mets plug holes elsewhere (lefty reliever, bench player or prospect) and give them some payroll flexibility.
Colon, 41, the eldest of the three, is coming off a season in which he again pitched over 200 innings. He is due to make $11 million in 2015. Dillon Gee has frequently battled injuries over the past three seasons and is entering his second year of arbitration. Jon Niese is under contract for the longest of the three–he's due to make $7 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016 with two club options for 2017 and 2018.
The Mets' options are plentiful as they are dealing from a position of strength and the rotation may start look different in the coming weeks.