Three Mets trades from three fans to land Francisco Lindor

The once heavy rumors surrounding the New York Mets and Francisco Lindor have seemed to fizzle out a bit, but that doesn’t mean a deal can’t be made. What could a trade package for the prized shortstop look like?

After a lackluster Winter Meetings, the hot stove has started to heat up for the New York Mets. Having bolstered the bullpen with the addition of reliever Trevor May, the Mets signed catcher James McCann to handle duties behind the plate, while also hiring Jared Porter to handle their general manager duties.

With more moves certain to come for the Mets, one move that’s seemingly faded into the background is the idea of acquiring star shortstop Francisco Lindor. Even before the transition in ownership was official, Mets Twitter had speculated heavily that if Steve Cohen were in fact to become the owner of the New York Mets, a trade for Lindor was all but inevitable.

While the Mets have certainly been moving, there’s a lot of work still to be done. There are still questions lingering about who will be manning center field on Opening Day as well as questions about what the rotation will look like behind Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman.

By adding McCann, the Mets certainly have money to spend, almost $60 million before hitting the Competitive Balance Tax, according to projections. Unless Cohen plans to surpass the luxury tax, that money is almost certain to be allocated to solidifying the rotation, securing a full-time upgrade in centerfield, and possibly extending some homegrown stars.

However, Sandy Alderson has been known to be a showman and Cohen is known to be a shark when it comes to getting what he wants. The adored owner has expressed his desire to be wise with his seemingly infinite cash, but could a trade for Lindor be the cherry on top that sends a message to the rest of Major League Baseball that the #LOLMets hashtag is dead and gone?

There’s no denying that the Mets have both the pieces and the finances to pry Lindor away from Cleveland. What’s more, is that the Indians are eager to move on from the 26-year old all-star. Between the $22-ish million that will be owed to him and the fact that it’s a walk-year, Lindor is all but certain to start the season next year in a different uniform. The question that is pressing is whether or not he’ll be wearing blue and orange.

To determine what it would take to get Lindor in a Mets uniform next year, we call upon three writers from Rising Apple to put together their best trade packages for the electric switch-hitter. The following trade offers have been put together by Elizabeth Muratore, Adrian Cervantes, and Allen Settle.

Amed Rosario was once considered the shortstop of the future for the New York Mets. After some early ups and downs, could he be a key piece in bringing in the new shortstop of the future?

There are some fans who don’t want the Mets to trade away many, if any prospects for Lindor. With more conservative stance, albeit a much understandable one, Elizabeth Muratore suggested that the Mets not go too steep in talent to acquire Lindor. Muratore stated that the Mets shouldn’t be players for Lindor this offseason unless the price was incredibly low given the circumstances financially and contractually with the Indians. Here’s the proposed trade:

Mark Vientos, the Mets 7th best prospect according to Baseball America, was the Mets player of the year in 2019. Providing average defense, but potential plus-side power, the third baseman has a chance to big bat once he gets called up to the majors. With Lindor being a free agent, but also MVP-candidate Jose Ramirez in the final two years of his contract, Vientos may provide a nice option at third base in the event that Ramirez can’t be retained or they could slot him to second base since he’s played over 1,000 innings there in his career.

With Amed Rosario, the Indians could take the potential upside that came with him after being the organization’s top prospect a few years ago. While replacing Lindor with Rosario may not produce the same results offensively, there’s still plenty to like about Rosario who is just 25 years young. Rosario is also arbitration-eligible over the next two years and is set to make about $2.2M this year, which would be a huge financial relief for the smaller market in need of breathing room on their payroll.

Ultimately, the price may be too low to execute a deal, but considering the Indians aggression in shopping Lindor and New York having the finances to actually extend him, the Indians could take a bit of discount in talent in order to unload his salary this year while also getting young, somewhat controllable talent for years to come.

J.D. Davis provided some much-needed right-handed power in the Mets lineup and that power could be what the team uses to secure the services of Francisco Lindor in 2021.

When looking at the players most likely to be traded, you’re looking at the same names in a number of different trades. In this situation, Adrian Cervantes has the same idea as Elizabeth Muratore, except his package includes both Rosario and J.D. Davis. Let’s take a look:

In this trade situation, the Indians get two major leaguers and a top ten prospect. The key to this becomes Davis’s ability to play left field. In doing that, the Indians cover three positions at left field, third base, and shortstop. Now, this obviously takes away from the depth at the major league level for the Mets. Of course, in this situation you could put have a combination of Andres Gimenez and Jeff McNeil at second and third base and play Dom Smith in left field. However, the bench thins out a bit.

This package becomes enticing if you’re the Indians due to the help it provides both in the immediate and the future. In Vientos, you’re obtaining controllable talent that’s cheap, while with Davis and Rosario, you’re getting Major League-ready talent that has proven to be productive.

While some fans may not want to give up Rosario and Davis, it’s important to note that the Mets best lineup doesn’t contain both of them playing at the same time. With Smith’s breakout season last year alongside Gimenez’s stellar rookie season, it’s hard to imagine both Rosario and Davis being in the lineup at the same time enough to not consider dealing both of them in attempt to receive a major upgrade in Lindor.

While there’s a chance it might take one more lower-level prospect to get a deal done, it would be to Cleveland’s detriment to look at this package and not at least use it as the merit for other teams to reach to acquire Lindor.