Hold your horses, everyone. It's just a headline. But it's also an important scenario to consider. The New York Mets will more than likely lose Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason and the team absolutely needs to replace that offensive firepower if they want to remain a contender.
As previous rumors have touched upon, will general manager Sandy Alderson trade one of the team's young starting pitchers for a middle-of-the-order bat?
While any of the starters could be involved in such talks, we've seen Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard surface here and there. Harvey's innings-limit debacle was the source of the trade rumors surrounding him while Syndergaard's name popped up when the Mets were the focus of trade rumors in their endeavors to acquire a middle infielder last offseason.
However, such moves are seemingly unlikely given their performances this season and the fact they're under club control at a bargain price.
"The buzz about a possible Harvey trade following the innings-limit controversy has been practically extinguished by Harvey's October heart and toughness, and while teams may still call, it's hard to envision the Mets breaking up their young rotation for the ages now," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
But with that being said...
"Their best chance to enhance the lineup in a big way might be to consider parting with one of their big young starters, and that's hard to see them doing that.
"If they have the courage to consider something like that, the Mets could try to swap one of their vaunted kids for a positional star of the future. Say swap Syndergaard for a George Springer or Mookie Betts. While those are just top-of-the-head thoughts and neither is especially likely, the point is, they may have to get creative to replicate the offense they had throughout the late summer."
Springer and Betts are interesting targets because both the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are in need of starting pitching and can perhaps afford to part ways with a young power bat because they both had top-10 offenses this past season.
If the Mets don't want to move Harvey or Syndergaard, there's still Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, Sean Gilmartin, Logan Verrett and Gabriel Ynoa. Whether Mets fans love each of these pitchers or not, somebody will likely be traded, especially if the team isn't (and they're not) willing to spend big money to acquire a top offensive player. Remember Alderson nearly dealt Wheeler to the Milwaukee Brewers for Carlos Gomez before the trade fell through?
One thing to keep in mind is that deGrom and Matz both underwent Tommy John surgery years ago. Perhaps the Mets view that as a risk as the two continue to pitch on with their surgically-repaired elbows. While there has been nothing to suggest this, they could sell high on one of these youngsters and bolster their offense.
Aside from possible trade scenarios, New York has also been mentioned in rumors regarding Ian Desmond, who will likely become a free agent on Saturday. The shortstop is expected to garner interest from around the MLB, so it's unknown if the Mets will be able to reel him in at a favorable price.
ESPN Insider Jim Bowden also thinks the Mets need to assess their situations in the infield and outfield and make another acquisition if need be.
"The Mets are expected to hand rookie Michael Conforto the every-day left field job, and a full season from him would go a long way in replacing Cespedes' and Murphy's production. Meanwhile, Juan Lagares is solid in center field (at least if his elbow problem is resolved) and Curtis Granderson is set in right. But with David Wright's back being a potential future problem, the team could look to acquire a corner-infield bat to provide some insurance there."
If their answers are not in free agency - and they likely won't be - then the Mets will need to scour the trade market. And if that means parting ways with a young starter, then so be it. New York has enough pitching depth to cope with such a loss.
They can't afford to trade any more prospects after the deals they made before the deadline, so they'll probably have to move someone on the MLB roster. The Mets' pitching only helped them get so far before the All-Star break this past season. They'll need their offense to do the rest and the only way to make that happen is to spend a lot of money or trade from the surplus of young pitching.
