Yankees rumors name "inevitable" NY Mets trade target as a Cody Bellinger backup plan

Not long ago, in a galaxy you live in, Buster Olney said the New York Mets signing Framber Valdez or Ranger Suarez was inevitable. Certainly very possible, another inevitable move was for the Mets to finally make a trade with the Chicago White Sox for Luis Robert Jr.

If so, they may have to go to battle with a familiar offseason foe. The New York Yankees are staring at Cody Bellinger, he’s glaring back at them, and they’ve reportedly considered an alternative, Robert Jr.

The Yankees moving off of Bellinger and toward a trade for Robert would allow them to move Trent Grisham out of center field where he didn’t play effectively. It boosts their defense up the middle with Robert over Bellinger while pushing players like Jasson Dominguez onto the trade block or delaying regular playing time for another year. Re-signing Bellinger would, of course, all but reduce the playing time for those young players altogether to a fraction of what they’d be in line to receive right now.

The Yankees may be handing Cody Bellinger over to anyone who wants him if they steal a common Mets trade target

The Yankees aren’t just looking at Robert as a potential lineup upgrade. In addition to him, Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs is a trade target. The fallout of adding him is larger. Does it move Jazz Chisholm to the trade block? Does he move into the outfield?

In either case, the Yankees signing Bellinger or going after Robert has a direct effect on the Mets. They need two outfielders. In an ideal world, it’s Kyle Tucker and a center fielder. Robert seems to make the most sense with a short-term contract and team option for next year.

The latest on Bellinger has the Yankees offering him a very similar deal to what the Baltimore Orioles gave to Pete Alonso. As a more versatile player and strong defender, he could take that as an insult. It’s a more than fair offer. Seven years for Bellinger seems outrageously long.

The Yankees have done very little this offseason. They’ve done even less to hurt the Mets. In fact, giving the qualifying offer to Grisham in the first place likely meant the Mets would never sign him. The fact that he accepted made it moot and saved us from the grief of a guy who’s likely to underperform to the contract.

Mets fans aren’t the only New Yorkers demanding more from their team. Perhaps worst of all for our friends in the Bronx, the Yankees don’t seem to have any chance at the more desirable Tucker and the heat of them going after Bo Bichette seems to have cooled. They’ll end up with someone. If it’s Robert, that could be the end of their offseason. And for the Mets, it might help one of the other choices fall into their lap and on David Stearns’ terms.