Mets surprisingly land Tigers star pitcher in trade proposed by insider

It's hard to believe, even while typing these very true words: The New York Mets are the most fun team in Major League Baseball.

After an abysmal two-month stretch to open the season, the Mets have caught fire. They own MLB's best record since the start of June, the entire lineup is on fire, and they have more rallying cries, team symbols, and purple mascots on their side than any team in history.

On the backs of Grimace, "OMG" and a whole lot of Francisco Lindor home runs, the Mets have overtaken the Atlanta Braves for the first Wild Card spot in the National League. But if they're serious about making a playoff run, this is going to be a very important weekend.

The MLB trade deadline is approaching on Tuesday, and the Mets, who were already short on starting pitchers, saw Kodai Senga exit his first start of the season early with a calf injury. Even if Senga doesn't go back on the injured list, the Mets will assuredly need more starters.

Insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote a trade deadline mailbag Friday in which he was asked about the Mets' plans at the trade deadline. Bowden not only strongly implied the Mets would buy, but named the Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty as a potential fit in Queens.

"The Mets are playing like a playoff team, so now instead of being minor buyers for relievers at the deadline, they need to shift and also try to acquire an upgrade in the starting rotation," Bowden said, naming Flaherty as one of the top starting options available.

Flaherty, 28, would be the perfect fit for a Mets rotation that struggles to strike batters out. The righty breaking ball specialist has 133 punchouts in 106.2 innings this season, good for fourth in the American League.

The Mets currently don't have a fifth starter, using a rotating cast of arms since Christian Scott hit the injured list earlier this month. Acquiring Flaherty would allow the Mets the comfort of a set rotation while keeping young gun José Buttó in a multi-inning relief role.

With Flaherty's contract set to expire at the end of the season, it seems a good bet that the Tigers will trade him to recoup some value for his services. The only question remaining is whether the Mets will be the ones to win the sweepstakes.

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