3 first thoughts on the Mets trade for Tyler Naquin while trying to sleep last night

Of course they did! The New York Mets made another trade last night with the announcement coming from Joel Sherman at 10:02pm. Somebody told them, “Hey, it’s a Thursday. Let’s wait until after the common folk has gone to sleep.”

They couldn’t have let the news leak a little earlier? Nope. Instead, blue lights all across Mets nation turned on, a few winks were missed, and REM was interrupted but not in the way the subject of “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” was during his news broadcast.

The Mets acquired outfielder Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl from the Cincinnati Reds for Jose Acuna and Hector Rodriguez. It wasn’t splashy enough to crawl out of bed and piece together a news story. It could wait because our subconscious could do some of the work overnight.

Thought 1 on the Mets trade with the Reds for Tyler Naquin and company

Tyler Naquin is a lefty, right? Didn’t they just add a lefty with Daniel Vogelbach whose tenure with the Mets may quickly turn into a pinch hitter? Naquin must be replacing Travis Jankowski on the roster. There is no other explanation as to why this trade would make sense. He’d be a really good upgrade in that role. It’s just a shame he hits left-handed.

Thought 2 on the Mets trade with the Reds for Tyler Naquin and company

What does this mean for the “real” bat they’re going to acquire? The Mets are going to have a bench of the backup catcher, Luis Guillorme, Vogelbach, and Naquin. When Patrick Mazeika is the backup, it’s all lefties. The team has already struggled against southpaws. Anyway, when are they going to get their big bat? Who will it be now? This definitely means J.D. Davis is off the roster by 6pm on August 2.

Thought 3 on the Mets trade with the Reds for Tyler Naquin and company

The Mets are making smart minor moves. Is this their trade deadline strategy after all? We all know something bigger is coming. Willson Contreras makes more sense than ever after this addition and the continued struggles from their own catchers. But we shouldn’t expect the Mets to stop there. One of the DH candidates they’ve been looking at all along will arrive, too. To figure things out, I think we need to discover if there is a major player that is best friends with Naquin that has a no-trade clause he could waive. Is this the NBA?

By adding Naquin to the roster, the Mets will now use Jeff McNeil exclusively as a second baseman while giving Guillorme more reps at third base. It could mean a few more off-days for Eduardo Escobar. Naquin could also see himself starting over Mark Canha or Starling Marte against a right-handed pitcher to give them a day off. Buck Showalter might not be shy about using all of his position players in games regularly.

As for the other pieces in the trade, Diehl is a minor league lefty who has struggled in the big leagues. The two Mets prospects are about as prospect-y as it gets. Naquin was the big fish in this deal and a precursor to the next move.