A hive-mind thought for the NY Mets rumors about an Edward Cabrera trade

The MLB Hot Stove is starting to warm up again with one of the latest hot rumors circling Miami Marlins trade candidate Edward Cabrera. They’ve crossed over to become New York Mets rumors with reported interest from the Amazins as well as the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs to acquire the Miami righty.

Youngish but controllable for three more seasons and seemingly on the rise, it’s no shock to see so many teams value Cabrera this way. He turns 28 in April, putting him squarely in the beginning of what can be his prime years.

Highly-regarded for several years, it wasn’t until 2025 when he finally crossed over 100 innings in a season. He fell just shy of 140 in his 26 starts, making just a pair of starts in September. He’d be a nice grab for any team but if we’re all going to share a mind, we should be thinking the same thing about these Mets rumors.

Is Edward Cabrera much better than what some of the younger Mets pitching prospects can be?

Nolan McLean is a given for the Mets Opening Day roster. It’s Brandon Sproat who looks most ready to join him in the big leagues with Jonah Tong needing a little more Triple-A seasoning. The asking price on Cabrera will undoubtedly be large. As little as he has accomplished, the low salary and years of control for a rising starting pitcher won’t have Miami selling low on him. In fact, they have very little reason to do so.

The only positive here in regards to a trade with the Mets is that the Marlins might utilize him in a trade for position players. The Mets have that in abundance. Several younger players both already on the MLB roster or a few months away from being ready could help put together a nice package in exchange for Cabrera.

But the question is if he’s actually the right fit for the Mets. Out of options himself and unproven in the long haul of a season, Cabrera might not be a solution the Mets are looking for. They passed on Tatsuya Imai because they didn’t believe he could be an impact starter for them. Does Cabrera meet the criteria?

If the Mets are unloading prospects for a trade, we’d probably hope for someone better. The years of control are nice yet not so necessary when the expectation is for several Mets pitching prospects to arrive quickly. Cabrera is a nice finishing touch.

As SNY’s Danny Abriano noted, he’d be a better grab for the Yankees because of the way they’re set up. They have top of the rotation studs. The Mets have enough other guys who could compete to put together similar seasons as Cabrera.

Trading more for a better starting pitcher is the smarter move. The only risk here is there’s no telling what the number of starters traded will even be.