3 best assets Billy Eppler should trade this offseason

The New York Mets may only have one major trade they can make this offseason. The farm system isn’t super deep. Their greatest weapon, Steve Cohen’s wallet, should have them looking for upgrades in free agency rather than dealing with other teams.

For General Manager Billy Eppler, this means proceeding with some caution. He won’t want to trade away a single player to reduce a future trade package for a much bigger target—Shohei Ohtani obviously being the biggest name out there.

Even if the Mets don’t get involved in the Ohtani sweepstakes, there are players for the Mets to shop. It’s these three that stand out as the best assets Eppler has that don’t seem to have an exact role with the ball club going forward.

1) NY Mets need to trade Mark Vientos or find a role for him

Mark Vientos trade talk has been ongoing ever since Brett Baty joined the organization. Baty has since passed Vientos as the clear favorite to play third base. For Vientos, a poor defender, the DH spot is the likeliest place for him to get regular at-bats with this franchise.

Vientos could certainly find a spot in someone’s left field or even as a first baseman. On the Mets, with Pete Alonso locked in at first base, the options get limited far faster.

Vientos has slid down many top Mets prospect lists in the last year despite an impressive performance in Triple-A. He hits with good power and should, at the very least, become a decent righty capable of mashing lefties.

Destinations for Vientos should be plentiful enough. He’d be a centerpiece in any major trade we can dream about. If the Mets don’t deal him, they’ll need to find a role for him on the roster. The right-handed DH partner with Daniel Vogelbach is one way to proceed.

2) NY Mets need to trade Ronny Mauricio while his value is high

Ronny Mauricio has far fewer clearings to get into the Mets starting lineup. As a shortstop, he’s blocked by Francisco Lindor for the next decade. Moving him to second base would be a possibility if not for Jeff McNeil. The Mets could always eventually move McNeil to one of the many other positions he plays.

It’s not ideal nor does it seem like the direction Eppler would go with this franchise.

Mauricio played well in 2022 and was one of the better Mets prospects we’ve been following for a few years that didn’t crack the major league roster. He continues to develop each year and wouldn’t be such a bad player to hold onto if there was any space.

Unfortunately, there isn’t.

Mauricio’s trade value is greatly helped by his age and performance on the field. The fact that he plays shortstop helps a lot, too. Other teams don’t have the luxury at shortstop as the Mets do. There is no question at the position in Flushing for several more years. Teams who could offer the Mets something now for a shot at Mauricio in the future will be making phone calls to Eppler this winter.

The Mets already unloaded Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez in the past—both to the Cleveland Guardians. Mauricio could be destined for something similar. We’ll just have to hope the Mets are able to snag something they can utilize for a few years. Mauricio is trending upward.