MLB Trade Rumors: Zac Gallen Heads to NY Mets in Proposed Deal

Frankie Montas has had a volatile debut with the New York Mets this season since coming back from injury. In his four starts, he has two nice outings and two ugly ones, combining for a 5.03 ERA. The Mets are seriously in the mix for a long playoff run in the National League this season, and let's say that Montas can't really be trusted.

The 32-year-old missed the entire 2023 season and posted a 4.84 ERA last year before a strained lat muscle in spring training kept him out unil late June this season.

The Mets are looking for another legit starter to take them the rest of the way, which takes us to this proposed trade offer from Jim Riley of Ballcap Sports. It's a potential deal that could land them recent All-Star and Cy Young finalist (2023) Zac Gallen.

NY Mets receive:

Zac Gallen, SP

Arizona Diamondbacks receive:

Jack Wenninger, RHP (Mets' #27 prospect)
William Lugo, SS (unranked)

The Mets, in this hypothetical deal, would get Gallen at a somewhat reduced price, as he has not been pitching anywhere near his potential this season, having a terrible contract year. But perhaps, on a contending team, in a rotation surrounded by the likes of Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes, and with his free agency firmly in sight just over two months away, Gallen could return to form.

And with a career 3.55 ERA and a 9.6 K/9 vs. 2.9 BB/9, that would be a very nice form for the Mets to add to their staff.

Is the return enough for the D-Backs?

Riley points out that Wenninger, despite his low-ish ranking on the Mets' Top 30 prospects list, is having a terrific season at Double-A (despite a rough last start). The big, 6'4" righty has been blowing batters away with a 107:23 strikeout to walk ratio in 86.2 innings (11.1 K/9), with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. "This feels like, honestly, a prospect on the rise," says Riley. He's still just 23 years old.

Lugo is a 23-year-old infielder out of the Dominican, who was a Top 25 prospect in the Mets' chain as recently as 2023.

This package might not get it done, however, as it's been reported recently that the Toronto Blue Jays are also in on Gallen, and you can bet that their GM, Ross Atkins, will probably overpay, as he has been fleeced before by D-Backs GM Mike Hazen (see: Jays trade top prospect Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for Daulton Varsho, 2022).