3 Cardinals players the NY Mets shouldn’t trade for, 2 they should consider adding

The St. Louis Cardinals are low-key on the verge of being one of the busier times at the upcoming MLB Winter Meetings. Several members of the roster have been mentioned in MLB rumors regarding a trade. Exactly what their plans are this offseason differ from our expectations for the New York Mets. While we’re buying they’re looking to sell, retool, and maybe take a year off from truly challenging for a playoff spot.

The Mets and Cardinals don’t have a rich recent history of trades. If a major deal is going to happen, this offseason is a good time to make it happen. A variety of options sitting on the Cardinals roster to choose from, there are three trade candidates to avoid and another pair they should highly consider.

The Mets should avoid trading for Sonny Gray

Here’s something you might have already forgotten about Sonny Gray, he was the American League Cy Young runner-up in 2023. At 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA for the Minnesota Twins, he had a Jacob deGrom-like season where wins were hard to come by despite his strength at preventing runs. This wasn’t as much of a strong suit for him this past year. Gray’s ERA ticked up to 3.84 even with a more favorable 13-9 record.

Why avoid Gray? It has nothing to do with his shortcomings as a member of the New York Yankees back in 2018. The “he can’t handle New York” is way too blown out of proportion. Despite all of his success, Gray is at the stage of his career where we should expect the downtrend to truly begin. Next season is his first on the other side of 35.

The contract doesn’t look so tempting either. Signed for a guaranteed $60 million over the next two seasons along with a $30 million option and $5 million buyout for 2027, he’s an expensive arm. Steve Cohen has endless wealth in his back pocket and yet this contract looks limiting. The $35 million owed to him in 2026 was back-ended by the Cardinals. It only works if you got the first two years out of him (plus a championship). The Mets can get two quality arms for close to the same price tag.