3 directions the Mets can go if they end up trading Jeff McNeil

The Mets could always look to acquire a third baseman in the trade or a separate deal

Whether through the McNeil trade itself or a separate deal, the Mets can always look to add a third baseman from a different team. This isn’t anything new for the club. They’ve been searching for a third base upgrade for a while. When Bryant was under contract, he was often brought up as a trade candidate. There are others out there, Matt Chapman of the Oakland Athletics enticing most fans more than most others.

Something I don’t think makes much sense for the Mets to do is to trade for a second baseman. It hasn’t been discussed at all for the simple reason of “why?” The Mets already have McNeil so unless they really don’t like him, a new second baseman doesn’t make all that much sense—unless they intend to simply move McNeil to the bench which isn’t an outlandish idea but also not preferred.

Trades are far tougher to execute than signing a free agent. I also don’t think the Athletics are ready to deal Chapman away for what the Mets are willing to offer. This front office regime is holding onto their prospects tightly. Until they need to, like at the trade deadline, I can’t see them moving on from any of their most prized possessions. The market for Chapman is huge right now with teams like the New York Yankees even considering him as a shortstop option.

It’s one direction we could see the Mets go alongside a McNeil trade. And if it’s not that, they could always do something else.