3 third base scenarios for the Mets next year with Manny Machado off the board

3) NY Mets could attempt to trade for Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon or someone similar

My first thought: what about the Mets trade for Kris Bryant and move him back to third base and have the Colorado Rockies pay a big part of his salary? Then I saw the numbers. No. Thank. You.

What about their current third baseman, Ryan McMahon? Younger, maybe on the rise, and already extended for a very reasonable amount, he’s an infielder with a good glove and the ability to play second base as well. His contract goes through the 2027 season with the highest salaries in those final two years at $16 million each.

This would be an absolute longshot. The Mets would have to give up something pretty good. Removing Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty from the table, it could mean surrendering someone else. Kevin Parada is far too valuable at the moment to trade away for McMahon. It is, however, exactly the type of player the Rockies should be asking for in exchange for McMahon.

The pitcher-needy Rockies wouldn’t find too many prospects they could fall in love with in the Mets’ system. Perhaps a deal centered more on the MLB-ready arms such as David Peterson and/or Tylor Megill makes more sense for them. McMahon hasn’t exactly taken off and done the Nolan Arenado thing in Colorado. Just a .244/.324/.427 hitter in his first 605 games spanning back to 2017 already, he’s a guy who hasn’t taken advantage of playing half of his games at Coors Field.

Clearly, the best case scenario for the Mets is to roll with Baty and maybe supplement the roster with a right-handed hitter just in case he isn’t so successful against lefties. With this in mind, a year of Gio Urshela wouldn’t be such an awful idea. But let’s root for Baty to grab the job.