How Francisco Lindor trade affects NY Mets offseason

After the trade for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, the Mets’ offseason plan is interesting.

With the Mets’ trade for superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and veteran starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians, it raises the question of what the rest of the offseason will look like.

Do the Mets still go out and get another big name player? Are they done for the offseason? Do they sign a couple of small glue type guys to round out the team?

Billionaire owner Steve Cohen said recently that at some point he thinks they will pass the luxury tax threshold but maybe not this season. With the Mets acquiring Lindor and Carrasco they add $12M for Carrasco and an expected $19.5M with Lindor. The Mets currently sit at around $161M with their salaries, with just under $50M left until they reach the luxury tax.

Now that the Mets have made a splash in the trade market, it is relatively safe to assume they will be done there, so rumors of Nolan Arenado or Kris Bryant being dealt to the Mets should come to rest. Although they have the money to add them to the payroll, they have fewer resources to deal now, so they should be done making big trades.

With the Mets still having roughly $50M to play with before hitting the luxury tax threshold, they still have the room to add a big player or two. They are reported to still be the frontrunners for center fielder George Springer even after acquiring Lindor and Carrasco. This is huge news for Mets fans that they are still in on a top player like Springer after acquiring two other top guys in Lindor and Carrasco.

With the Mets also acquiring Carrasco, it can indirectly take them out of the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes. They now have a starting rotation consisting of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Carrasco as their top half, with David Peterson right behind them and Noah Syndergaard expected to return in the summer. The Mets are not in huge need of a top-end starting pitcher now like Bauer and can focus the majority of their money elsewhere, such as upgrading in center field with Springer and adding starting pitching depth.

Overall, the only difference this trade seems to make for the Mets is that they will longer target a big pitcher like Bauer. They still have the payroll flexibility and the money to go sign Springer who strengthens their defense in center field while adding a right-handed bat to a heavy left-handed lineup. It is more likely to see the Mets add Springer and a veteran starting pitcher like Corey Kluber, Jon Lester, or Cole Hamels with a lower base salary with incentives since they are all coming off years where they were hurt or not great.

Following a potential deal with Springer and a veteran starting pitcher as just stated, the team could then look to add another relief pitcher and some depth pieces with the remainder of the money left in payroll. Cohen is the only owner who did not lose money from the shortened season and lack of fans last season so we should expect him to continue to be aggressive and take advantage of the fact that other teams are hesitant to spend to their lack of revenue in 2020.

How do you think the Francisco Lindor trade affects the rest of the offseason for the Mets?