Three trades the Mets and Yankees should make with each other

The Mets and Yankees entered the season with World Series expectations, but both have fizzled instead. 

The fourth-place Mets (38-46) are 18.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East and eight games behind the San Francisco Giants for the final NL Wild Card spot. The third-place Yankees (46-38) are 9.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

To play in the postseason, both New York teams need major shakeups. Here are three trades the teams should make with each other to jump-start their chances for the postseason:

Mets trade Mark Cahna to the Yankees for Albert Abreu

The Mets bullpen has the 21st-best ERA in baseball (4.26) and has given up the second-most home runs (45). 

Abreu, 27, is a backend reliever for the Yankees but has a 2.95 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. That stat line would instantly make him one of the most trusted relievers in Queens. Abreu is also still pre-arbitration, so the Mets would have the right-hander under contract for much of the next decade.

Cahna's playing time has been reduced significantly in left field due to the emergence of Tommy Pham, making him expendable. In 208 at-bats this season. the 34-year-old has a respectable .245/.337/.394 slash line. He would instantly become the best left fielder on the Yankees roster.

Mets trade Tommy Pham to the Yankees for Estevan Florial

Nobody in baseball that is not named Shohei Ohtani is hotter than Pham. Since May 28, the 35-year-old has a 1.125 OPS, the second highest in majors next to Ohtani.

Aaron Judge, who has a torn ligament in his big right toe, won't return before August, so the Yankees' offense needs a jolt. The Yankees had a .300 on-base percentage in June, the third worst in baseball.

Florial, a 25-year-old outfielder, has raked at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, hitting 20 homers and posting a .989 OPS. Despite all the Yankee outfield injuries and struggles, they have opted against giving Florial another stint in the bigs.

Florial, who has hit just .185 in 54 career MLB at-bats, was designated for assignment by the Yankees on April 1 and is not on the 40-man roster.

Mets trade Mark Vientos to the Yankees for Oswald Peraza

Vientos, 23, and Peraza, 23, are big-time prospects, but a change of scenery could serve both well. 

Vientos has 91 home runs in the minors but has not been given much of a shot with the Mets. He plays third base and first base but is blocked from playing those positions by Brett Baty and Pete Alonso. Vientos had just 45 at-bats when he was called up this season, and was forced to platoon at DH with Daniel Vogelbach, a player with a dreadful .663 OPS. Clearly, the Mets don’t value Vientos highly or know how best to deploy his immense power.

Despite struggling in June, Peraza has a .278/.347/.544 slash line with 12 home runs at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. The youngster started at shortstop for the Yankees in the ALCS last October but lost the starting shortstop job to Anthony Volpe in the spring. Volpe, 21, will likely be the starting shortstop for the foreseeable future, putting Peraza’s future in the Bronx in jeopardy.

The Yankees love power hitters like Vientos. The Mets love versatile pieces like Peraza. This could be a match made in baseball heaven.