Orioles should have this Mets reliever circled on their trade deadline wishlist

The recent loss of Keegan Akin has sent the Baltimore Orioles into a scramble to find a left-handed relief pitcher to fill his absence. Since Akin went down, the Orioles have already called up Josh Walker and optioned him, and today they called up Nick Raquet, who has been called up and optioned three times already this year. It feels like only a matter of time before Raquet is optioned once more and Dietrich Enns or some other waiver wire lefty takes his place. This kind of patchwork bullpen maneuvering might be ok for a couple of weeks, but if the Orioles have any ambition to climb back up in the standings, they need to make a permanent replacement for what they've lost in the bullpen.

The trade deadline is just a few weeks away, and the New York Mets are preparing for a fire sale. Should that sale come to fruition, the Orioles should be first in line to trade for left-handed reliever A.J. Minter.

The Orioles' bullpen needs help

Minter is a 10-year bullpen veteran with a consistent track record of success and injury issues. This year, after starting the season on the IL, he has come back and looked really good for a Mets team with terrible vibes and zero playoff aspirations. Through 16 innings, he has a 0.56 ERA with a 2.61 FIP; he has surrendered just one walk in 59 batters faced.

Minter is a career-splits-neutral pitcher who this year has been better against righties than lefties, but even his "worse" numbers against lefties would be the best the Orioles have to throw at a tough lefty in a close game.

Minter is in a sweet spot for the Orioles. He fits the exact need that they have, and with him being a pure rental and the Mets needing to blow up the pieces around their core, it shouldn't cost too much to separate him from New York.

If the Mets are asking for more than what the Orioles are comfortable moving for a rental reliever, the teams work out a deal where the Orioles put more prospects on the table, and the Mets include Freddy Peralta, and the Orioles could kill two birds with one stone.

David Stearns and Mike Elias both came up under controversial Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, and based on how they've both gone about building their teams, it's clear they have some similarities as far as how they view the game. They should be able to come to some sort of agreement where the Orioles get the pieces they need to push their team in the right direction and the Mets get some useful building blocks.

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