West Coast bidding war makes Brandon Drury reunion unlikely

A Brandon Drury reunion wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, from the recent New York Mets trade rumors shared by SNY’s Andy Martino, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen. We have two teams to blame for it.

The hot-hitting utility player who has entrenched himself as the starting third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds this season is a fit for a lot of clubs. That includes the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

For those hoping he’d help headline some of the Mets trade rumors over the next few weeks, you will need to look elsewhere. Drury would be more of an everyday fit for them. Those clubs have more to offer the Reds in a trade, too.

Mets trade rumors: If Brandon Drury is off the table, where does that leave third base?

There haven’t been any Mets trade rumors hinting at a possible upgrade at third base despite a rough first half from Eduardo Escobar. They’ve seemed committed to him. J.D. Davis has barely played the position this season and Buck Showalter’s favorite player, Luis Guillorme, has been more of a second baseman than anything else.

The team does have Mark Vientos on the farm. However, his numbers this year in Triple-A are powerful yet not eye-popping. Through 273 trips to the plate, he’s slashing .258/.341/.504 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI. He has been a poor defender as well. This year’s Mets team seems to prefer to have guys playing at their natural positions rather than give them time to learn on the fly.

Drury is a unique trade candidate because of all of the positions he does play even if he’s not exceptional at any of them.

If there was going to be a more versatile player mentioned as a candidate in any upcoming Mets trade rumors, Ian Happ or Whit Merrifield would be options. Happ is an All-Star this year while Merrifield hasn’t been his usual productive self. Neither is particularly good defensively at third base either which makes them less of a candidate for the hot corner.

The Mets will most certainly look to upgrade the DH spot in their lineup but deciding what that player’s main defensive position is should be a factor as well. It doesn’t need to be a third baseman because of all of the options they have from Escobar to Davis to Guillorme to even Jeff McNeil. An outfielder or even a first baseman that can mash is perfectly fine.

Let the Dodgers and Giants fight over Drury.