NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 players on the trade block, 3 destinations for each

Hey, will you look at that? The MLB Winter Meetings have arrived. It’s not quite the MLB trade deadline. A team can have an exceptional offseason without making a single move over the next few days. The New York Mets are expected to be one of the more aggressive clubs with at least one significant improvement coming this week.

Free agency is a bit tiresome because there isn’t anyone new joining the pool other than the occasional DFA’d player. Trades, on the other hand, are as exciting as ever. It seems like the Mets are getting to a stage where they’ll need to trade some players in order to improve the present.

Based on the rumors and basic logic, all five of the Mets players discussed here are perceived as trade candidates. Where could they go? These three teams all make sense.

1) Kodai Senga

Pinpointing where Kodai Senga could get traded isn’t easy. He needs to go to a team with some intent on contending next year. Coming with the baggage of some unknown but with a reasonable salary, teams who are willing to take risks or have some desperation would make sense for Senga. Where could he possibly go?

Angels - Their rotation is virtually vacant and pitching has been a major issue for them. They’ve been willing to spend yet rarely seem to get things right. The coexistence of him and fellow Japanese-born Yusei Kikuchi shouldn’t be an issue. This feels right up the Los Angeles Angels’ alley of trying to be like the Los Angeles Dodgers with those two together.

Cardinals - Another team with a lot of room on the starting staff, acquiring Senga could give the St. Louis Cardinals a starter with upside. They have a lot of (relatively) young position players who could be of some interest to the Mets.

Orioles - They have some of the same qualities as the Angels and Cardinals. In need of starting pitching yet not willing to spend just yet, they’ve shown a willingness to take minor risks, which Senga would be in many circumstances. They, too, have some interesting position players that could intrigue the Mets.