MLB rumors: If the top NY Mets trade candidate isn't moved, we can blame the Phillies

One of the ongoing MLB rumors heading into the Winter Meetings is the availability of Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm. A gifted yet flawed, beloved yet frustrated, and rising yet stagnant player on the NL East rivals’ roster, his availability could get in the way for the New York Mets trading one of their top candidates to get moved.

Bohm’s presence on the trade block should have at least a couple of teams diverting their attention away from the Mets and their seemingly available young third baseman, Brett Baty. Although Bohm and Baty are at different points of their career with vastly different-looking resumes, a contender would far more benefit from adding Bohm immediately to their roster than the lottery ticket Baty has become. 

Bohm is coming off of an All-Star season with the Phillies that started off incredibly strong and dipped as the season progressed. Baty would end up back in the minor leagues after a slow start in the majors for the Mets. As bad as Bohm’s defense has been at the MLB level, Baty’s bat has been worse.

The Phillies can eliminate at least one Brett Baty suitor for the Mets

Not all teams in the Bohm market will be matches for Baty and vice versa. Baty is more of a project while Bohm is going to get his 600 plate appearances in the majors somewhere. Third base? First base? DH? It depends on where he ends up.

As successful as he has been in Philadelphia, Bohm’s power and OBP numbers aren’t impressive. Averaging 16 home runs per 162 games with a .327 OBP, he’s a guy profiling best as a number six hitter in an ideal situation with a more traditional viewpoint. He can drive in runs effectively, falling just shy of 100 rib-eyes in two consecutive seasons.

Far more proven at the major league level than Baty, a concern for the Mets would be for a team such as the Seattle Mariners (they keep having these guys named in mock trades) targeting the surer thing at the position. Baty’s trade value is exceptionally lower than Bohm and will only get worse the longer the Mets wait to deal him. One minor league option remaining after this year, Baty is a project with a due date in the very near future.

Leave it to the Phillies to pull the plug on a player who actually turned out to be a pretty good hitter to eliminate one more possibility for the Mets to swap their budding youngster they’re still waiting to see bloom.