Here we go again (Wright)

Photo by Mack Ade

Recently, the ugly rumor of moving David Wright to the Phillies popped up again. While a deal to a division rival (the Phillie?!?! Come on...) is unlikely, the rumor itself reminds us that a trade of Wright is a reality we as fans have to deal with. In fact, with recent news that Wright is on terrible terms with ownership, it seems inevitable that we will not seek to re-sign in a place he feels unappreciated and therefore must be traded (sometime this summer, not before) in order to bring something in return.

What should the Mets try and acquire for him in trade? To determine that, we first have to determine what teams would even have interest in trading for him.

As Wright is a Top 3 3B in all of MLB, almost every team could benefit from adding him to their roster. However, many teams would not necessarily replace their incumbent 3B with Wright for an incremental upgrade. Below is a list of the Top 20 3B in baseball last year.

1. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
2. DAVID WRIGHT, New York Mets
3. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
4. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
5. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
6. Mark Reynolds, Baltimore Orioles
7. Michael Young, Texas Rangers
8. Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
9. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
10. Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers
11. Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves
12. Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
13. Casey McGehee, Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Scott Rolen, Cincinnati Reds
15. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
16. Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies
17. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
18. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
19. Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers
20. Dayan Viciendo, Chicago White Sox

The first team I think would make the move for Wright is SF, currently having Pablo Sandoval at 3B. That eliminates the teams currently employing the Top 13 (sans the Mets) 3B in baseball. I'd also exclude teams that have top 3B prospects coming up that they don't want to block (ex. Colorado and Nolan Arenado), teams within the NL East division, teams that have little hope of contending in 2012, teams with weak farm systems, and teams that wouldn't be willing to tie up $15M in Wright. Using that criteria, I've come up with the Cardinals, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, and Giants as potential destinations for the Mets' franchise player.

If Wright is traded, the first priority would be to acquire a frontline starting pitching prospect. I would target the top pitching prospects of the Cards, Tigers, and Diamondbacks. All 3 have potential aces (top 25 prospects) in their systems. The Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, and Giants don't have the pitching talent that these three have.

 

- Cardinals - Shelby Miller

Miller is the dream *get* here, he's a top 10 prospect in all of baseball, one of the best starting pitching prospects, and projects to be a future true ace. The likelihood of Miller coming over to the Mets is minimal at best. It would depend on the Cards having a strong desire for adding Wright, as SF had with Beltran last year. With the addition of the 2nd wild card this year, the Cards could find themselves in the hunt for another playoff spot in 2012. Although the organization has not been known to make too many panic or stupid moves, there could be some pressure as this is a year for the team to turn the page and win, having lost Pujols to the Anegls and LaRussa to retirement. They also have Carlos Martinez in their system, another top pitching prospects in all of MLB, something that *might* making moving Shelby more palatable for them.

Tigers - Jacob Turner

The Tigers have bee linked to an interest in trading for Wright for some time. Turner is the obvious target here as he is another of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. He might not have the full upside of Miller, however he does profile as an SP1-SP2 and would immediately become the best of the Mets' young pitchers. After signing Prince Fielder, a trade for seems less likely, as the need for offense is not what it was, and Miguel Cabrera will shift over to 3B. However, time will tell how Cabrera will handle a transition back to the hot corner and if he can't play the position, the Tigers could find themselves in the Wright sweepstakes.

Diamondbacks - Tyler Skaggs

The Diamondbacks had a very good season last year and look to be improving. As their young talent gains experience and learns to play together, adding an experienced All Star like Wright to a position of need could provide a boost and some needed stability to the club. Wright's relationship with team star Justin Upton would likely also be seen as a plus. We've seen Arizona trade Jarrod Parker this offseason, so we know that the team is not averse to trading their prospects. Of the 3 pitching targets I've mentioned, I think Skaggs is the most likely. As with Miller and Turner, Skaggs would become the top pitching (and top overall) prospect in the Mets' system.

If the Mets are determined to move Wright and cannot acquire a top pitching prospect for Wright, they should still trade him for the best package of prospects they can get, regardless of area of need. I would be looking at it from the perspective of getting best best available talent, boost the overall farm system, and then turn around and use the excess talent to make deals next offseason. In addition to the Cards, Tigers, and Dbacks, I would target the remaining teams and look for them to front a trade with a top-50 (approx) prospect. That being the case, the Mets could look to deal Wright to the following teams, with the prospect likely to head a trade package listed:

Cubs - Brett Jackson

Angels - Jean Segura (They aren't trading Trout for Wright)

Dodgers - Zach Lee

Giants - Gary Brown

As has been stated before, not many Mets fans (myself included) would like to see Wright move on from this team. However, if he's going to be traded, I hope the FO looks at this as an opportunity to greatly improve the Mets' young talent.