If the NY Mets trade Francisco Lindor this winter, these teams could make sense

The trade deadline has come and gone. As the New York Mets play out the final weeks of their disastrous 2026 season, eyes are already going to be turning towards 2027, where brighter days hopefully lie. That means both celebrating some of the great prospect additions the team made like infielder Jefferson Rojas, but it also means looking ahead at playing time for youngsters down the stretch and future transactions that could build on the moves made this summer.

Of course, there's a cloud looming over any look ahead at the 2027 season for the Mets (even aside from the upcoming lockout that appears to be increasingly inevitable). That cloud is the seemingly-fraught relationship between the two biggest stars in Queens. Outfielder Juan Soto and shortstop Francisco Lindor have endured rumors about their rocky relationship since Soto joined the team, and recent reporting from ESPN's Jorge Castillo appeared to confirm all of it.

The report itself was a mixed bag. A meeting put together by recently-traded righty Freddy Peralta appears to have helped Lindor and Soto see eye to eye on things for now, but concerns about the relationship between the two stars remain for many fans. After rumors percolated before the deadline that Lindor might be available at the right price, it seems likely the front office will face more questions on the matter this winter. If Lindor is available, who could be his top suitors?

The Red Sox are desperate for a shortstop. Is Lindor the solution?

The Red Sox went all in at this year's deadline and made a massive move when they brought Adley Rutschman in to be their new starting catcher. Boston surrendered a lot of prospect talent to make it happen, but with Rutschman under control through 2027 there's no reason to think they'll take their foot off the gas headed into next year.

While their deadline was a success for the most part, the Red Sox missed out one major item from their shopping list. They failed to add an impact shortstop like Zach Neto, Otto Lopez, or CJ Abrams. Of course, top prospect Franklin Arias is already at Triple-A and could even be in the majors before the end of the year. If the Red Sox are fine with Arias, Caleb Durbin, and Curtis Mead rounding out their infield for 2027, a move need not be made at this point.

It's reasonable to wonder if the Red Sox will be more aggressive than simply letting the kids play, however, and that aggressiveness is something the Mets could try to take advantage of. Even after the Rutschman trade, there's plenty of youngster in the Red Sox system the Mets could covet, and the return would surely get even better if they offered to take on the remainder of Trevor Story's contract in a deal for Lindor. Justin Gonzales and Marcus Phillips would be particularly exciting adds.

Could a swap of big-time contracts with an NL West club make sense for the Mets?

The NL West has been dominated by the Dodgers for well over a decade now, and that's led their division rivals to enter into some questionable deals in hopes of keeping pace. The Giants and Padres were both rumored to be toying with trying to dump substantial salary ahead of this year's trade deadline. While neither of those efforts ultimately went anywhere, it's easy to imagine both clubs continuing to pursue that end this winter.

Meanwhile, if the Mets are looking to move Lindor (particularly coming off what's shaping up to be a down 2026 season), they'll need to contend with his contract being viewed as underwater by most around the game. It seems unlikely the Mets would be willing to pay down a significant portion of a productive star's contract just to move him, so perhaps the best solution would be working out a swap where the team takes significant salary back.

Between the two clubs, there's a number of players on big-money deals the Mets could consider taking on. That ranges from badly-struggling veterans who would essentially be dead money like Xander Bogaerts and Willy Adames to successful-but-overpaid hitters like Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee. Perhaps even Fernando Tatis Jr.'s hefty contract could be on the table, though it would surely take a whole lot more than Lindor to pry him away from San Diego.

The Giants have a more diverse set of contracts to choose from. Devers, Lee, Adames, and Matt Chapman would all be reasonable candidates to be moved. The options in San Diego are more limited, but they do come with an added benefit. Given that Soto's own time with the Padres overlapped with Bogaerts, Tatis, and Manny Machado, the Mets should have a good idea of how adding any of those big contracts to their clubhouse would go over before making the deal.

After poaching Bo Bichette, could the Mets send their own shortstop to Toronto?

The Bo Bichette era hasn't exactly gotten off to a good start in New York. While he's mostly overcome questions about his ability to handle third base defensively at this point, his bat is leaving much to be desired with below-average results to this point in the season. Bichette's down season can't hold a candle to the disastrous season his former club is having, however.

Without Bichette helping to anchor their infield, the Blue Jays have slumped badly after coming just a game shy of winning the World Series last year. While re-signing Bichette wouldn't have helped with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s power outage, Toronto clearly needs more offense than their current collection of talent can provide. Inserting Lindor into the lineup would be a massive upgrade over the paltry production Andres Gimenez is currently offering with the bat at shortstop.

Like the other teams mentioned, Toronto has a number of contracts they might like to shed as part of a deal where they take on Lindor's salary. Anthony Santander and Jose Berrios are the most obvious candidates to be dumped on that roster, and as thanks for taking one of them on the Mets could expect to be paid handsomely in prospects and young talent. Oft-injured lefty Ricky Tiedemann still has plenty of upside, and younger players like Johnny King and Juan Sanchez are easy to dream on.

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