The 5 Mets players most likely to get traded this offseason

Let the offseason begin. The New York Mets have a different direction to go in. Fortunately, it does feel as if the team will not pursue some sort of a rebuild or immediate retool; at least not right now.

With this in mind, the biggest player discussed in trades, Pete Alonso, should be removed as a likely trade chip. So should Jose Quintana. If the Mets aren’t emptying the cartridge, he needs to stay as well.

Several others aren’t nearly as safe. It’s these five Mets we should deem as the most likely to get traded this offseason—for better or worse.

1) Mark Vientos

Trade speculation about Mark Vientos seems to come up every offseason for the obvious reason: the Mets don’t really have much of a place for him. Formerly a third base prospect who has been downgraded to something more of a DH, Vientos has annihilated Triple-A pitching yet come up very short whenever he has had his shot in the big leagues.

Vientos shares a few things in common with Dominic Smith. While their style of play and strengths differ, it became difficult to find ways to get Smith into the lineup once Pete Alonso proved he was by far the superior first baseman. A position change for Vientos hasn’t truly happened at the major league level. He has only worked at the two corner infield positions. One is blocked. The other has him ranked third in terms of how trustworthy he is on defense.

Vientos has hit just .205/.253/.367 in his first 274 big league appearances. Power was present in the final weeks of the 2023 season. It shouldn’t be enough for him to be completely removed from the trade block.

2) Ronny Mauricio

Ronny Mauricio had the most exciting start to his major league career as any of the Baby Mets simply because he didn’t fall off a cliff as quickly as the others happened to. He ended the year with much more pedestrian numbers, slashing .248/.296/.347 in 108 opportunities. Mauricio was exciting, but he also suffered from many of the troubles plaguing rookies. His 31 strikeouts in 26 games put him on pace for 193 Ks in 162 games. The sample size is too small to either buy into or sell him too hard in either direction.

His place on this list isn’t anything new. As a shortstop prospect, he was an obvious trade candidate for the Mets because of the presence of Francisco Lindor. Mauricio has moved to playing second base and third base at the major league level. The trouble here is he has competition at third base and the much more highly-touted Luisangel Acuna in the minor leagues likely to challenge for any role Mauricio could win on the Mets roster.

Mauricio’s fate could lie in what the Mets decide to do at third base. A platoon with Mauricio and Brett Baty is sort of acceptable as long as the Mets are vastly improved elsewhere. Letting the kids figure it out on the job completely in 2024, however, feels too dependent on hope.

Unlike Vientos who has been exposed for his poor defense, Mauricio feels like a useful asset in Queens or through a trade. His ability to play shortstop should make him more intriguing in any negotiations.

3) Kevin Parada

The one prospect on this list is Kevin Parada. It’s obvious why he’s a Mets trade candidate. The club already has Francisco Alvarez in the majors digging his heels in behind the plate. The need for Parada has lessened.

Catchers at all levels are a curious bunch, though. Like shortstops, they can sometimes change positions. Something like this shouldn’t be out of the question for Parada. Exactly where he’d play is anyone’s guess as he has yet to venture away from the catcher spot as a professional.

Parada had an unexceptional 2023 season batting .248/.324/.428 with 14 home runs. A new class of college and high school kids entering the draft paired with his struggles have bumped him down the list as the best catching prospects in baseball.

Trading a prospect at a position where you already have another stud youngster is an obvious move to make. The urgency to do so with Parada isn’t there just yet. If the Mets are going to make a deal involving him, they might want to think about whether selling him low is the right thing to do or if seeing what he can do next year to increase his value benefits them more.

Of course, waiting has its own consequences. What if Parada’s value completely tanks?

4) Omar Narvaez

A little bit of a different twist on this list, Omar Narvaez is someone Mets fans are unified in wanting to see go elsewhere. He’s far more likely to get moved than teammate Starling Marte, another veteran in a similar spot.

The same statements about the presence of Alvarez on the roster are true for Narvaez but more immediate. What purpose does Narvaez serve as a backup making $7 million, especially if he repeats last year’s performance?

In only 49 games and 146 plate appearances, Narvaez slashed .211/.283/.297. It was actually a near repeat of what he did the year prior when he was a .206/.292/.305 hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers. At this point, it’s unfair to say the 2023 season was all to blame on injuries. Narvaez has been bad in back-to-back seasons.

With this sort of trade, it would resemble what the Mets did with James McCann. He was dumped onto the Baltimore Orioles with the Mets absorbing most of the salary. Can or will they pull off something similar again this offseason? Fans will rejoice if they do.

Meanwhile, Marte’s much more significant salary will make him a tougher trade candidate. We need to wonder exactly how much money Steve Cohen is willing to eat for players who get a shot at a championship somewhere else.