Reese Kaplan -- Let's Not Forget Trades To Improve the Team

While there has been quite a bit of chatter regarding free agency, not nearly as much attention has been paid to the trade market.  Part of the reason is that we are not all as intimately familiar with 29 other clubs’ positional needs and budgetary constraints.  

Another part is that we do not live inside the heads of David Stearns and Steve Cohen to know what their taste is for giving up major league and/or minor league assets to acquire new members of the New York Mets.

We can list many players rumored to be available for the right asking price.  In no particular order there are Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert, Jr. of the White Sox, Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals, Cody Bellinger of the Cubs and pretty much any player earning too much money for what he provides to his current employer.

Now there are three ways to approach these types of deals.  You can offer up players who no longer fit your blueprint for building a sustained competitive team.  Names here could include the likes of Starling Marte or Jeff McNeil.  

The problem is that unless you’re taking over another team’s overpriced player you’d likely have to pay down the payroll responsibility for these high priced solid but underperforming stars. 

The second approach is to move a currently seemingly entrenched piece to another team in exchange for multiple pieces of theirs that could include major league ballplayers and top level prospects.  In this case you may not have to pay down the contract value but in addition to whatever you receive you would then have to replace that skill set as well which would come at a separate price in another deal elsewhere.  

Consider for a moment what closer Edwin Diaz could land in this type of deal.  Your return would be solid but then you’re left with the who’s our closer question that would now be wide open.

This third approach is kind of a mirror image of the starting rotation housecleaning done during 2023.  In this case you identify the top prospects who you hope will be formidable and inexpensive parts of your future.  To land them you need to give up something of substantial value like Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander.  In this case, however, what might work best for the Mets is for them to play the role of the Rangers and the Astros.

Consider the list of prospective players above.  Rather than list one or two specifically, let’s consider how the Mets could use their suddenly more interesting farm system to help a club rebuild for their future in exchange for some immediate help for the big league Mets. 

Suppose you put together solid top 25 prospects like Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, Luisangel Acuna, Ronny Mauricio, Jonah Tong, Brett Baty and another one or two highly regarded players.  That return to the other club should net those big names. 

However, instead of looking for a 1-2 year solution, what would be even more appealing is obtaining younger highly regarded players who would not break the payroll bank for a couple of years while you see how they fit into Citifield. 

Now many will squawk that giving way the farm system puts the club right back where it was prior to reinforcing it.  I see it differently.  The idea was that the incoming youngsters were going to become solid major leaguers always came with an element of risk.  

Take Brett Baty as an example.  He made minor league headlines with his bat but it didn’t translate to the majors.  Maybe Jett Williams is the next Rickey Henderson.  Maybe he’s the next Roger Cedeno.  

What you’re doing in this kind of deal is transferring that gamble to his new employer and in exchange you’re picking up proven big league talent which was the point to improving the farm system in the first place.  You need to give to get and if giving is unproven players for proven ones then you need to keep an open mind.