This NY Mets-Red Sox trade would have had both teams feeling starved

The MLB offseason isn’t a sprint, it’s a trek. Beginning immediately after the World Series with some small moves followed by housekeeping and then the bigger trades and free agent signings, it’s a long journey fans say they don’t like but actually enjoy. Who doesn’t get a kick out of playing GM in their underwear at home? The New York Mets made it clear early there would be huge changes to the roster. A trade with the Boston Red Sox seemed to be one of the likelier moves they could make.

Bleacher Report likes putting together trade packages and one of the heavy focuses was on where Jarren Duran could end up. The Mets made sense with Brandon Nimmo out of the picture. They chose to send him to the Mets for Mark Vientos and Jonah Tong.

Imagine if that happened. How starved would both teams be right now if the results were the same?

Why the Red Sox are asking for more if that trade happened in the offseason

Let’s assume, to make them really hungry, Vientos takes on a hybrid role of playing some first base, third base, and DH. They still get Willson Contreras. They focus on trying to get the most they can out of Vientos at the hot corner.

It’s a downright disaster defensively. Maybe it saves them from their ill-fated trade of Kyle Harrison for Caleb Durbin which is an unforgivable move. Durbin has found a way to have a worse year than Vientos at the plate.

Tong is the player who gives the Red Sox hope of turning the trade around. However, with a so-so season in Triple-A this year and shaky big league performances worse than his 3.60 ERA would suggest, Boston would have their hands full trying to develop him into the pitcher we were told he could become. What’s more, they lose their best pitching prospect and end up blocking an exciting player from making his MLB debut.

Why the Mets’ stomachs are grumbling with this trade

There’s no crying over the loss of Vientos. Tong, with hope lingering, would be someone to worry about. But hey, they got Duran! Well, he’s not having a particularly good year either. Hitting just .209 this year with 10 home runs and 34 RBI, the fallout of trading for him would have been epic.

First, he’s a left fielder. This means Juan Soto sticks in right field. Second, there’s no room for Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing. It does probably mean we aren’t grief stricken with the daily non-updates on Luis Robert Jr.’s health. The Mets always seemed to have a plan to have Benge factor into the team’s plans early on in 2026 so we cannot assume they would’ve traded for Duran and Robert.

Duran could have always become a DH which could force Jorge Polanco into more of a no-man’s land than he already is. His return from the IL would put added pressure to actually play defense, something the Mets seem disinterested in moving forward.

In some ways, it seems like adding disappointing players were inescapable for the Mets. Duran fit too well in the early days of the offseason with their clear need for an outfielder. Not all trades have a winner and a loser. Had this deal happened, it would have been a matter of who lost less.

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