ESPN omits the NY Mets as a Eugenio Suarez fit, names a surprise All-Star instead

ESPN loves baseball about as much as we love the ballet performances of other people’s kids in the 10 and under group. Did you know they won’t let parents leave after their kids perform? In their attempt to attract baseball fans this month, the world wide leader in (some) sports put together a list of the top 50 trade candidates. At number one is third baseman Eugenio Suarez who’d look pretty good in a New York Mets uniform; or so we thought.

Suarez at number one isn’t a surprise. Six teams were named as the best fits. The Mets didn’t get a mention.

Only a short scroll downward to number two on the list, we find All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan. Listed as a best match for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets were second. Wait, what?

Are the Mets actually a realistic fit for Steven Kwan?

A light-hitting, high OBP defensive wizard, Kwan is an exceptionally good match for the Phillies. They have power in other places. What they could really use is some better outfield defense. They’ve been a rumored team to be in the market for center field help. Left field is another spot where they could conceivably use a better bat of any kind.

This isn’t the case with the Mets who have Brandon Nimmo out there and Juan Soto on the other side of center field. Neither is going anywhere. So unless the Mets planned to make Kwan a center fielder, a position he has logged 31 innings at, the fit doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Kwan has been an All-Star for two straight years and is likely to win his fourth Gold Glove in as many tries. Under team control for two more seasons after 2025, selling him now would be a move by the Cleveland Guardians to capitalize on his high stock and sell before arbitration numbers rise.

Because the Mets were willing to give Jeff McNeil a chance in center field, it might not be so impossible to imagine them doing the same with Kwan. It does seem like they have greater needs than a left fielder who’d be playing an unfamiliar position while putting up the same kinds of numbers McNeil would offensively also while swinging from the left side.

Kwan versus righties and some days where Tyrone Taylor plays against lefty starters? It’s not a bad thought. At the price he’d likely command, there are better ways to use your assets.