Mets trade idea for Carlos Correa comes with an expected steep price

Are the New York Mets a potential trading partner with the Houston Astros for star shortstop Carlos Correa this offseason?

Are the New York Mets are a realistic landing spot for Houston Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa? Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report believes there is a fit for a potential deal involving Correa this offseason between both organizations. Let us not also forget that both the Mets and Astros have recent history in making trades together including a trade for third baseman J.D. Davis in January of 2019, as well as a trade for outfielder Jake Marisnick in December of 2019.

There have been rumors circulating around the Astros organization that the front office may be looking to deal their cornerstone shortstop this offseason. The reasoning behind the potential movement of their All-Star shortstop stems from the front office believing that Correa will not re-sign with the ballclub when he reaches free agency after the 2021 season. With the Astros already projected to lose a key piece of their team in outfielder George Springer this offseason, the Astros may be inclined to get some sort of value in return for Correa if they believe he will be departing the organization when his contract expires.

The Mets currently have two good young shortstops in Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, but many around the industry believe the Mets may upgrade their shortstop position this offseason and will be in on the Francisco Lindor bidding, which is why Reuter speculates the Mets as a potential fit for Correa. Let’s take a look at the trade proposal below:

I have a strong overall opinion on this specific trade proposal and my viewpoint is that this is a trade that the Mets front office absolutely can not afford to make at this time. The Mets have depleted so much of their upper-level pitching in the Minor Leagues over the past couple of seasons under Brodie Van Wagenen’s watchful eye, that there is no possible way that they could afford to deplete the pitching in their farm system even further with this proposed deal.

All three right-handed pitchers that are proposed to go along with Amed Rosario in this proposed trade are considered very high upside arms in the Mets system. Josh Wolf who was selected in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft has been considered a fast riser among all prospects in baseball, and it would make little sense to get rid of him at this point early in his development. Wolf would easily become either the Astros number one or two prospect overall if he was dealt.

We all witnessed the type of pure stuff that Franklyn Kilome possessed last season in his couple cups of coffee at the big league level, and it was downright nasty. However Kilome had a few rough moments on the mound with his control, but if Kilome can harness his control he can be an absolute weapon out of the Mets bullpen within the next year.

Lastly, Joander Suarez is a little less known on the prospect front by many Mets fans. however, he is a 20-year old high ceiling arm who has displayed great stuff on the mound thus far as evidence by his 1.79 ERA over 11 appearances and eight starts with the Gulf Coast League Mets in 2019. Batters also had a lowly .191 batting average against the Venezuelan pitcher in 2019.

Looking at the other side of the trade, there is no discrediting Carlos Correa as one of the best shortstops in baseball. The 26-year old shortstop was the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year, he’s won a World Series, and he is a former All-Star. His career batting line of .276/.353/.480 with a 126+ OPS is surely something the Mets would love to add to their already potent lineup.

Yet, despite the lofty stats and Correa’s defensive abilities, as I previously stated the Mets aren’t in a potential position to trade any more quality arms from their system. I’m sure the Mets would consider a proposal centered around Rosario and possibly another piece on the Major League roster such as former Astro J.D. Davis, or a potential positional prospect such as Mark Vientos but would most likely decline this offer.

It’s also fair to wonder if the Mets would want to take on the baggage associated with Correa. Correa’s response to the Astros sign-stealing scandal surely left a bad taste in many mouths around baseball and it’s fair to wonder how much real interest there will be for him on the trade market this offseason.

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Plain and simple if I’m going to trade for one of the upper echelon shortstops in baseball I’m putting my chips all in on Francisco Lindor. When it’s all said and done, I find it highly unlikely that Carlos Correa ends up in Queens in 2021.