It's gonna be tough to find Amazin' deal
AN ill trade wind blows toward Citi Field.
The more this month unfolds, the worse the Mets’ chances seem to get of salvaging anything significant from this nightmarish campaign.
Tuesday brought two big deals in this rapidly moving market: The Yankees pulled off a mammoth deal with the White Sox, acquiring Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson from the White Sox for former Met Tyler Clippard and three minor leaguers, and the surprising Diamondbacks picked up outfielder J.D. Martinez from the Tigers in return for three minor leaguers (Sergio Alcantara, Jose King and Dawel Lugo) without particularly high pedigrees.
There, you’d think, went the Mets’ best chance to trade Lucas Duda, given the Yankees’ first-base woes. And the lowly regarded return for Martinez, who put up a 1.018 OPS with Detroit this season, reflects the extreme buyers’ market for outfielders, where the Mets are peddling both Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson.
It’s not all bad; the reunion of Robertson with the Yankees went down as a bit of a surprise and therefore kept many other teams (Red Sox, Brewers, Rangers, Dodgers, Rockies and Cardinals) potentially in play for the services of Addison Reed, the Mets’ walk-year closer. Yet with so many relievers on the block — the Orioles’ trio of Brad Brach, Zach Britton and Darren O’Day; the Padres’ Brad Hand, the Phillies’ Pat Neshek, the Tigers’ Justin Wilson and the Marlins’ David Phelps and A.J. Ramos rank among the most prominent — the Mets’ return on Reed probably will be “medium,” as one talent evaluator from an American League club phrased it.
And it goes downhill from Reed. In another season, a guy with Bruce’s power numbers would be plenty in demand. Much to the Mets’ misfortune, however, you won’t find a contender prioritizing an outfield bat. The one aspirant with such a clear need, the Astros, will look for arms first.
And if the Mets struggle to find a taker for Bruce, then they sure as heck won’t have an easy time unloading the beloved and somewhat forgotten Granderson.
Asdrubal Cabrera? Quite simply, he can’t be on this team when the call to Amed Rosario comes. That call should (and likely will) come on Aug. 1, when the Mets turn the page and let Rosario assume the everyday shortstop responsibilities; the 21-yearold is expected to return to the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup Thursday after missing two games with a bruised right index finger.
Jose Reyes will be here to serve as Rosario’s mentor, and two’s a crowd for this mentoring gig. If the Mets have to release Cabrera, if even paying the rest of his $8.25 million salary for 2017 and his $2 million buyout from next year’s option can’t bring back a human lottery ticket in the form of a lower-level prospect from another team, then they must do so.
However, if Rosario will mark the turn toward next year at the outset of August, then the Mets might require the rest of the month to finish their business. Their best hope in unloading many of these guys, at the risk of sounding cold-blooded, could be injuries to contenders. Players such as Bruce, Granderson and Neil Walker (currently on the disabled list) will look far more attractive next month when club’s options become more limited; all three should clear waivers given their eightfigure salaries. Whenever Duda goes — maybe the Royals will import him as their designated hitter, or the Mariners will tab him to share first base with the righty-swinging Danny Valencia? — then Dominic Smith, the Teller to Rosario’s Penn, can join the Mets’ lineup, too.
The misery has begun to sink in on this Mets team, their 7-3 victory over the Cardinals Wednesday night at Citi Field notwithstanding, and you’d be naïve to think that guys aren’t impacted by the reality that the group will look different by Aug. 1 and then different again by Sept. 1. The arrival of Rosario will bring an imperative wave of optimism, and Smith should help, too.
The journey to those arrivals, though, looks to be very challenging. These trade winds are not kind. May I recommend now as the perfect time for Mets fans to take a vacation from baseball?