Mets Trade Rumors: Asking price for Francisco Lindor included Amed Rosario

According to New York Mets trade rumors from this offseason, a potential trade for Francisco Lindor would have centered around shortstop Amed Rosario.

Brodie Van Wagenen never did make the big flashy trade many of us were expecting this winter. However, according to some recent New York Mets trade rumors, he did seriously talk to the Cleveland Indians about a deal for shortstop Francisco Lindor.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Amed Rosario was one of the primary targets of Cleveland. In addition to the current shortstop in Flushing, these Mets trade rumors of weeks-past would have included at least a pair of prospects.

Interestingly, Tim Healey of Newsday previously reported Jeff McNeil as the main Indians’ target. When Van Wagenen was unwilling to part with him, the Mets trade rumors with Cleveland seemed to disappear.

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Heading into the offseason, one of the few positions I didn’t expect the Mets to upgrade at was shortstop. Along with Lindor, there were talks of the Mets possibly going after Carlos Correa. They never pulled the trigger on either deal, each likely costing the team about the same.

As Danny Abriano of SNY speculated, the two prospects headed to Cleveland in this deal would have likely been from then franchise’s top five.

The more I think about it, the more I think I may have been willing to do this trade under a few circumstances.

Rosario and Andres Gimenez for Lindor is a trade I would make. That doesn’t complete the deal quite yet. We need to pick from the other four to find the last piece. This is where things get a little tougher.

Between Ronny Mauricio, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, and Matthew Allan, it’s an incredibly tough choice. Mauricio would essentially become the replacement for Lindor at shortstop if he’s not re-signed in two years. Alvarez has the makings of a phenomenal catcher in the future while Baty is less than a year removed from being selected in the first-round. Van Wagenen wouldn’t dare trade back-to-back first-round selections, would he?

In Allan’s case, it’s equally difficult to justify a trade. The Mets focused on landing him in this year’s draft. By dealing him away now, it almost feels like they punted on the 2019 MLB Draft. Although, if it meant coming away with Lindor, it’s easier to accept.

With any trade like this, it’s always a measure of whether or not a player’s future is more valuable than a current star’s present. Because the Mets could get two years from Lindor, it’s definitely worth some heavy consideration.

Fortunately, the toughest decision I had to make this winter was whether or not it was worth staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop. It wasn’t yet I did it anyway.

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On a positive note, it’s nice to see Mets trade rumors which suggest Van Wagenen was aggressive in his pursuit. He showed some restraint here. And for whatever that’s worth, I have to give him some credit even if this does end up as a massive mistake.