3 NY Mets trade pivots involving the previously rejected offer for Brett Baty

2) Brett Baty and A.J. Ewing for Lars Nootbaar and JoJo Romero

I’m not a big fan of Lars Nootbaar. There isn’t anything he doesn’t particularly amazing. He’s a fine outfielder who can serve you best in a corner spot. So, in order to give up Baty and Ewing, you need to add more. That’s where JoJo Romero comes in.

An efficient lefty reliever who is masterful at inducing ground balls, Romero would give the Mets a third lefty in the bullpen with additional protection in case A.J. Minter isn’t ready to begin the year on the team. Rather than turn to Richard Lovelady (sorry for the acid reflux) they’d have a built-in option to get some of those big outs while throwing from the left side.

The St. Louis Cardinals don’t come up short in this deal. They get Baty, an immediate replacement at third base for Nolan Arenado, plus a rising prospect who could very well end up as a similar version to Brendan Donovan. The Cardinals are likely to delete a few more players from their roster this offseason. 

For whatever it’s worth, another fascinating player the Mets should consider is Alec Burleson. I’d guess if the Cardinals are trading him they wouldn’t have as much interest in Baty because it would signal an even larger reset. He’s a left-handed hitting outfielder/first baseman who’d be a nice match for the Mets in that exact role, more so at first base. I’d guess the Cardinals would want prospects exclusively for him if they were to move on. Inexpensive in his first year of arbitration eligibility, it can’t hurt to ask what they’d want for him. Baty and Ewing won’t cut it. For Nootbaaar and Romero, maybe it does.