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Grading 3 Mets trade packages from 3 teams for 3 players to fill 3 roster needs
What if the New York Mets can address several of their needs in one fell swoop? You can kill two birds with one stone. What about eliminating three seagulls from the face of the planet with a single toss of a piece of stale bread?
The Mets have yet to determine if they’ll be buyers or sellers which is the case for a couple of teams floundering around in the middle. We’re all assuming they will contend this year. With our eyes on buying instead of selling, the next nearly two months of Mets rumors will focus on where they need to improve and not which prospects they should look to pick up by dealing their veterans.
To have some fun, I’ve found three trade packages from three teams involving three players to address three different needs. The Mets could use a bat, a reliever, and a possible rotation upgrade. All three of these packages contain those parts. Which one is the best, which is the worst, and which one may actually happen?
1) NY Mets trade package from the Rockies: Charlie Blackmon, Brent Suter, Chase Anderson
There are a lot of players on the Colorado Rockies who would look good on the Mets roster. With several pending free agents after this season, they should be hard sellers.
The bat in this deal is Charlie Blackmon. A name Mets fans have thought about in the past as a corner outfield or DH option, he’s one year away from free agency. Still a productive left-handed hitter, he would be the Daniel Vogelbach replacement we’ve been waiting for. He can even play a little bit of outfield as needed.
The Mets pick up lefty reliever Brent Suter in this trade package as well. Off to a strong start for the Rockies, he fills the much needed void of having only Brooks Raley in the bullpen throwing from the left side. Another rental, how can Colorado turn this down?
Finally, we need a starter. Chase Anderson isn’t all that exciting and yet he’s an incredibly reasonable option for the Mets to consider. They weren’t able to pick him up off waivers after an earlier DFA by the Tampa Bay Rays. Anderson could be a long-man and spot starter for the Mets. With Kodai Senga’s uncertainty at being able to pitch on regular rest, the Mets should weigh other options aside from Tylor Megill and David Peterson.
This trade isn’t so bad. It gives the Mets offense a boost and an everyday candidate. The bullpen is immediately better with a legitimate hurler. The least of their concerns at the moment, the rotation, has a little more depth. All three are rentals. The Mets can get away with making this deal without having to subtract any of their untouchable prospects. Bring in another relief pitcher and the Mets have themselves a vastly improved roster, unless the whole thing collapses around them.
Trade Package Grade: A- if it doesn’t cost an untouchable prospect and Mark Vientos is touchable for the record
2) NY Mets trade package from the White Sox: Andrew Benintendi, Liam Hendriks, Lucas Giolito
We turn our attention to a less than perfect trade package received from the Chicago White Sox. Notably, this one might have to include a little bit of cash as well considering the players involved.
Finding a bat the White Sox would reasonably part with that would fit the Mets was tough. Andrew Benintendi is about it. His terrifyingly big contract without much power at all from a position where we’d like an upgrade immediately sours me on this deal. The only other option would be to acquire Yasmani Grandal as the bat or overpay for Tim Anderson which brings up a whole lot more trouble with Francisco Lindor on the roster. Do we really want a shortstop debate?
Beyond taking on Benintendi and only a portion of his deal from the White Sox, the Mets add Liam Hendriks. He has just gotten back on the field after striking out cancer. We know how elite he can be. Signed for $14.3 million this year and a $15 million club option for next season, he’s someone the Mets could always bring back next year to replace David Robertson if he decides to leave or retire.
Finally, the starting pitcher. The White Sox have several options, but Lucas Giolito seems to fit in as the most likely to get traded/best available. He’s another pure rental for the Mets to consider. He doesn’t have a team option for next year or anything. He’ll flee for free agency.
I don’t like this package nearly as much. The idea of bringing in Benintendi completely spoils the concept. Can we swap him for another bullpen arm like Kendall Graveman? If so, the trade package becomes more appealing yet a bit of a less imperfect fit for what the Mets need. The Rockies trade directly addressed three of their major weaknesses while adding to the starting pitching depth. I’ll pass on this deal. It feels like the Mets would come out with a higher payroll than even Steve Cohen is willing to pay without the reward.
The especially big trouble with thinking about any trade candidate from the White Sox is how much likelier they are to make the postseason than the Mets. The AL Central is a dogfight between average or worst ball clubs. They have a path to win the division that the Mets don't.
Trade Package Grade: D+ under pretty much any circumstances especially with Jerry Reinsdorf adding his own Steve Cohen tax to any deal
3) NY Mets trade package from the Cardinals: Paul DeJong, Jordan Hicks, Jordan Montgomery
This is a bit funky. The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the biggest surprise disappointments of the year. Drag the Mets and their performance through the mud all you want. The Cardinals are disastrous.
Their trade deadline will include many of the upcoming free agents getting dealt and maybe not so much the prospects. If the Cardinals do indeed become sellers, any trade with the Mets has to begin with shortstop Paul DeJong, right? A known killer of the Amazins, he’s the most reasonable position player for the Mets to land. He has a club option for next season which the Mets could easily decline and turn him into a rental.
For the bullpen, it’s soon-to-be free agent Jordan Hicks. It would be nice if they had a lefty reliever pitcher well or if Hicks didn’t have his own history of imploding. He’s having an okay season. He’d be an improvement over some of those other Mets arms.
The trade package finishes with lefty starter Jordan Montgomery. That’s right. We’re getting two Jordans. Too bad Michael wasn’t available. Montgomery has been one of the many struggling Cardinals players this season leading to such a disaster. If you’d rather have Jack Flaherty, by all means, pick him. On the Mets roster, they’d be a potential upgrade over a guy like Carlos Carrasco who we should still be a little timid about getting through the season.
This trade package is better than the one created from the White Sox yet not nearly as good as the Rockies one. It would cost more to get these three players. They don’t fit in as ideally either. DeJong could give them some starts around the infield but his bat has been unreliable in the majors. Hicks is too wild at times. Montgomery hasn’t looked the same this season.
Trade Package Grade: C if the Mets aren’t giving up any of their best prospects and it feels like they would have to
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