3 moves the New York Mets should make once the lockout ends

Oakland Athletics v Chicago White Sox
Oakland Athletics v Chicago White Sox / Ron Vesely/GettyImages
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Starling Marte, Matt Chapman
Texas Rangers v Oakland Athletics / Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages

TRADE FOR MATT CHAPMAN AND CHRIS BASSITT 

I’m gonna be honest, I am biased towards third basemen, center fielders and pitchers. There’s not a center fielder in this deal, but the Mets should absolutely inquire into a package for Matt Chapman and Chris Bassitt

The Oakland Athletics are in sell mode (shocker). With the Mets shopping Jeff McNeil, they should package McNeil with two prospects and get an answer to two question marks the roster currently contains. 

The most glaring issue right now for the club is the rotation. I know that sounds counter-intuitive given the fact that the top of their rotation is Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, but there are very real health issues with deGrom and providing more depth is a priority for the front office. 

In Bassitt, the Mets would be getting a very solid number three in their rotation. The righty compiled a 3.15 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP in 157 IP with 159 strikeouts. Bassitt broke out last year after showing signs during the truncated 2020 season in which he pitched to a 2.29 ERA. At 32, Bassitt is set to be a free agent after the 2022 season, which would effectively lower the asking price even though he’s owed only $8M this season. 

The second piece in this deal would give the Mets a Platinum Glove winner at third base. 

Chapman is a defensive wizard and while his batting average is never going to turn heads, Chapman still showed some decent pop by hitting 27 homers last year. The big upside is that Chapman is also set to make only $8M next year before entering into his final year of arbitration in 2023. 

With the Mets having made vast improvements last year defensively from previous years, Chapman would only add to that. As the Mets look to turn their franchise around in all areas, adding Chapman to Lindor on the left side of the infield would be a major upgrade defensively. 

Chapman alone admittedly probably wouldn’t make sense for giving up McNeil, but adding Bassitt to the mix would improve the Mets much more than simply holding onto McNeil.