1 trade the Mets should make after moving on from Carlos Correa

The New York Mets had Carlos Correa, and then they lost him. Correa had agreed to a 12-year $315 million dollar deal with the Mets what feels like years ago after his initial 13-year deal with the Giants fell through.

The Mets raised the same concerns the Giants brought up during Correa's physical and they were unwilling to guarantee the full contract. Correa ended up taking a deal that guaranteed him six years and $200 million dollars with the Twins. With the Mets having missed out on Correa, Billy Eppler should not just sit around hoping the offense is good enough.

Unfortunately, there isn't a star left on the open market. There's a player like Adam Duvall who could work as a platoon bat at DH but he isn't a needle mover. If the Mets felt that Correa was the final piece, they should pursue a different hitter who can help put the Mets over the top.

Trading for Bryan Reynolds would make up for the Mets losing the Carlos Correa sweepstakes.

The fit here isn't perfect. The Mets don't really NEED an outfielder as they brought Brandon Nimmo back and have Starling Marte and Mark Canha in the corners. Marte was an all-star, Nimmo was one of the better center fielders in the game, and Canha was an above-average hitter for New York.

Bryan Reynolds is a star with three years of control before hitting free agency following the 2025 season. He's a guy who can hit for average, get on base, and hit for power. He's a switch hitter who can hit just about anywhere in a lineup.

Reynolds is coming off a down year where he slashed .265/.345/.461 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI. He had an .807 OPS and a 125 WRC+. Yes, that's a down year for Reynolds who had a 141 WRC+ in 2021. He's been an elite hitter despite having virtually no talent around him in a horrible Pirates lineup. He's absolutely the real deal and is probably a better overall hitter than Correa. Reynolds isn't great defensively, but with Nimmo in center he'd play left and would be fine there.

The Mets can proceed to trade Canha or use him in a bench role. Marte just had core surgery in the offseason and has injury questions. Nimmo is always a question mark as well. Depth is never a bad thing.

The Mets can try and center a package around guys like Ronny Mauricio, Kevin Parada, and others. I'm not sure the pieces fit perfectly since the Pirates reportedly want pitching in a Reynolds trade and the Mets don't have pitching prospects to offer. If Billy Eppler can figure out a way to get this done without giving Francisco Alvarez and preferably Brett Baty up, that'd be awesome.