Mets: Why they need to avoid making any more big trades

Last week, the New York Mets made arguably the biggest move of the offseason, making a blockbuster trade to the Cleveland Indians to acquire the services of All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor and veteran starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

The trade was a big move for the Mets in their effort to build a World Series contender, however, it did come with a hefty price tag, as they dealt two of their former top prospects in Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, as well as 2 minor league players.

While the trade did give the Mets an elite shortstop and helped round out the starting rotation, at least for the remainder of the offseason, the team should avoid making any more big trades.

The aftermath of the Mets trade with Cleveland

In the aftermath of the deal with Cleveland, rumors have been circulating the Mets are looking to make additional moves, notably to acquire either Kris Bryant of the Cubs or Nolan Arenado from the Rockies.

However, as things stand, the Mets already do have a pretty complete team, and any other existing holes can be solved via free agency. But beyond that, new owner Steve Cohen said that one of his priorities is the help rebuild the team’s farm system, which last year, the MLB ranked as no. 20 overall.

As the Tampa Bay Rays showed in 2020, you don’t need the biggest payroll to make the World Series, and that’s because having a wealth of talented young players is just as important to a successful franchise aimed at long term success.

Currently, the Mets only have a grand total of 3 minor league players ranked in the Top 100 MLB Prospects, and due to the cancellation of the minor league season last year, they may be further behind in their development.

In order to help build the farm system up more, the Mets need to focus on retaining the young talent they currently have, while also focusing on replenishing it in this year’s draft and by signing international free agents.

While minor deals are acceptable, in the short term, they would be wise to avoid dealing away any more of their top talent, and focusing on signing free agents to fill the remaining holes in the team, such as a natural center fielder or additional relief pitchers.

Outfielders like George Springer, Starling Marte, and Joc Pederson are still on the market, and relievers like Brad Hand and Sean Doolittle could be signed to round out the bullpen.

The bottom line is in order to focus on securing long-term stability and success, the Mets need to plan on having players developing in the pipeline and not just cash in all our chips for one season.

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As much as we all want to see them bring a World Series trophy back to Queens, it would be even better if they planned ahead by building the farm system properly and formed a dynasty to bring back several.