Could unhappy AL right-hander be answer to Mets' pitching woes?

The New York Mets fell from 45-24 to 48-37 ahead of July 1 during a brutal stretch for the club that featured both its pitching and offense producing handfuls of lackluster performances. 

On Monday, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News suggested the Mets could pursue an old friend to bolster their starting rotation.

"The A’s are rumored to be interested in trading Luis Severino, especially after his critical comments about the Sacramento ballpark situation," Mastracco shared. "His home/road splits are drastic this season, with the right-hander posting a 6.79 ERA at the Triple-A Sutter Health Park, and a 3.23 ERA on the road, attributing better road numbers to pitching in big-league parks. While he still has two years left on his contract after this season at a hefty price, it might be worth the price since the Mets know exactly what they’re getting."

Severino resurrected his career with the 2024 Mets as he helped them reach the 2024 National League Championship Series. Over 31 regular-season starts for the Amazins, the 31-year-old posted an 11-7 record with a 3.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts across 182 innings of work. He signed a three-year, $67M contract to join the Athletics this past December but seemingly isn't loving life with his current employer. 

Specifically, The Athletic's Brendan Kuty noted on June 27 that Severino feels he's been a better road pitcher with the Athletics "because we play in a big-league stadium on the road." This past weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today revealed that the Athletics "are now open to trading [Severino] after he continues to bash the environment in Sacramento, agitating the organization."

As for the Mets, they began July down four starting pitchers because of injuries. Griffin Canning is out for the remainder of the year due to a ruptured left Achilles. Sean Manaea was recently shut down from throwing because of a bone chip in his elbow after he seemed close to making his season debut coming off an oblique problem. Tylor Megill (right elbow sprain) hasn’t pitched since June 14, and Kodai Senga hasn't taken the bump since he suffered a hamstring strain on June 12. 

As noted by Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic, injuries limited Senga to just one start during the 2024 regular season.

"The pitching staff hasn’t been the best version of itself in June," Mastracco added about the current Mets. "Starters and relievers have combined to post a 4.80 ERA, the fifth-worst in baseball in that time. ...They need Senga and left-hander Sean Manaea back badly."

Throughout last season, shortstop Francisco Lindor and other Mets players routinely mentioned how the "vibes" inside the clubhouse helped the club bounce back from a rough start to the campaign. Severino serving as the "OMG sign guy" became part of a needed change for the 2024 Mets. On Tuesday, SNY's John Harper also linked the Mets with Severino.