Best trade destination for each of the Mets bats on the trade market

A day will come when J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil, and Dominic Smith are no longer all lumped together. Right now, the three New York Mets position players are the trio most likely to get dealt before Opening Day 2022—whenever that is.

Davis and Smith saw their playing time diminish down the stretch in 2021. McNeil moved from second base to left field and has since become a guy the Mets are rumored to have an interest in heavily shopping around to the other 29 teams.

The MLB lockout has put a hold on any trade from actually happening. When the lockout does end, we can expect talks to resume. And these three members of the Mets’ trade block do have some teams where they may fit right in.

NY Mets trade candidate J.D. Davis is a fit for the Cincinnati Reds

J.D. Davis for Luis Castillo—who says no?

It’s the Cincinnati Reds for sure. But maybe with a few other pieces, a deal can work.

There is no truly perfect team for Davis out there because of his deficiencies on defense. I view him as more of a part-time position player, part-time DH. And if that job does come to the National League for good, the Reds may be a team that could use him.

If Nick Castellanos isn’t returning to Cincinnati, the Reds are missing out on a huge piece of their offense from last year. He’s actually similar to Davis in a lot of ways. He, too, has moved around the field in an attempt to find him a more permanent place on defense. His bat, however, has been much more alive and far more often than Davis’ ever has.

The Mets and Reds are natural trade partners because of the latter’s possible available starting pitchers to deal. While Davis might not be intriguing enough for them to sell Castillo, maybe Sonny Gray or Tyler Mahle makes a little more sense.

The Reds have a potent offense but the loss of Castellanos looms. Mike Moustakas is penciled in as their DH for 2022 according to FanGraphs. However, with Davis as an alternative and another choice to play some left field, maybe this could be the start of a trade between these two clubs.