NY Mets: 3 best shortstop options to replace Francisco Lindor

NY Mets shortstop candidate: Javier Baez

The Chicago Cubs are selling everyone. Will it be like the township flea market my wife read about on Facebook? We drove around the neighborhood looking at what they had on their lawns. We couldn’t tell what was trash and what was up for grabs.

The Cubs have more than litter to give away. Shortstop Javier Baez, warts and all, is seemingly available. A power hitter with no shortage of strikeouts in his arsenal, he’s yet another guy for the Mets to look at as a possible stop-gap at shortstop while Lindor is out.

Personally, I would run away from any trade involving Baez. He’s having a powerful season but not doing much else. His career OBP is right around the .300 mark. He’s a power-hitting, Gold Glove-winning, strike three-spitting option and far from my favorite choice.

One good thing about Baez is he has some more experience playing around the infield. We cannot say this about Story. When Lindor does come back, moving Baez to second base and Jeff McNeil to third base or an outfield position is one option. Or the Mets can simply move Baez to third base and start a platoon between J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith in left field. Or—do I really need to go through all of the options?

You’ve got an imagination. I’m sure it’s better than mine.

Baez strikes me as a guy who would get traded mid-year and either become a legend for his new franchise down the stretch or show up and do nothing. It’s a gut feeling. The Mets would benefit a lot more from a guy who hits with a little more average than pop. There must be one more shortstop trade candidate out there.