A DH in the National League benefits the Mets in the trade market, too

The story of how the New York Mets can benefit from the DH has been an ongoing one for a couple of years now. They have several candidates on the roster to fill the job on a regular basis. Pete Alonso could move there. Robinson Cano could do the same. Even J.D. Davis looks like he might be able to give a team some great at-bats out of this role.

The Mets also benefit from the addition of a DH to the National League by means of trade.

The entire National League will need to contemplate what they’ll do with the spot in their order. The Mets, with three position players to shop this winter, can help them out.

The top Mets trade candidates can have an effect on what other teams do at the DH spot

Davis is an obvious DH candidate on any team. While a preseason contender may not see him as their everyday designated hitter, Davis could fall in line as part of a platoon. Pair him with a lefty that can mash versus right-handed pitchers and you could find yourself getting much more out of Davis and his partner.

The other two trade candidates on the Mets, Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith, are a little different. McNeil isn’t a superior defender but he also isn’t a guy to shove in at the DH spot on a regular basis. A great skill of his is the ability to bounce around the field. Smith, an above-average fielder at first base, opens up the possibility of a team putting him at this position and moving their defensively-flawed player away from his glove and closer to his bat on a more permanent basis.

Trade Smith to a team with a butcher at first base and suddenly they’ve upgraded their defense and also found a solution for the designated hitter role. If Smith can recapture what he did in 2019 and 2020, any team that acquires him suddenly has two very good bats in the lineup with improved defense to go with it.

McNeil can do the same thing but with more positions. Depending on where you want to play him, he can also move a guy from a position like second base or left field into the DH role. There are plenty of left fielders around the league that teams would probably prefer to see toss their glove into the trash.

Now is actually a good time to have position players you can shop around the league. Nothing is guaranteed in regards to the DH and the National League. But where there’s smoke, eventually comes the fire. With bodies to trade, the Mets can benefit by helping out some other squads.