3 Mets trades for Jordan Montgomery that could make sense for both teams

3) Diamondbacks trade Jordan Montgomery to the Mets for Luke Ritter

There are some more creative directions we could’ve gone with this final trade. Let’s stay on the wall a little bit. What about swapping Montgomery for Luke Ritter? Stop fussing. He is going to get taken in the Rule 5 Draft anyway if the Mets don’t do something about it.

Preferably, the Mets use Ritter to add something more controllable than a veteran starter coming off of a terrible season. Who are we to complain? The fact that this seventh round pick has come to earn any value whatsoever is a huge win.

Inconceivably, Ritter would quickly become a contender to at least see some action in Arizona as their first baseman. A prototypical utility player in the minor leagues with no one specific position, this 27-year-old’s powerful bat over the last two seasons should be intriguing enough for the Diamondbacks to at least take a chance to see if there’s something there—even if it’s just a few really good months.

The same rules apply as they do with Ramirez. The Mets must only make this deal if Arizona is handing Montgomery over at a big discount. Half of his salary staying on the Diamondbacks payroll might be too much to ask. The only appeal of the trade would be if the Mets are adding $10 million or less to their salary. Montgomery needs to look like a free agent bargain and based on last year’s class of free agents that included Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, $10 million seems like only a little less than what a bargain would be.

Ritter won’t have exceptional value because of how much he strikes out among other limitations. He’ll probably have a career more similar to what DJ Stewart evolved into. A good role-player in the making, his future doesn’t have him calling Citi Field home.