Scott Long
2/15/21
Entering the offseason, Sandy Alderson and the New York Mets had a lot of work to do in shaping the Mets roster, who showed promise last season, but were expected to become big-time spenders after Steve Cohen purchased the team. With the early moves to acquire James McCann, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco, Aaron Loup and others, the Mets showed they were serious about making whatever moves they have deemed necessary to contend.
However, many fans were unhappy that the team struck out on the big-fish free agent targets of J.T. Realmuto, and more so George Springer and Trevor Bauer. The Mets were finalists for both Springer and Bauer, and in both scenarios submitted an offer that they deemed fair and then stood their ground and didn’t budge in negotiations, only to see the free agents opt for deals elsewhere. In Springer’s case he was offered an additional year to play for the Toronto Blue Jays at six years, $150 million. Meanwhile, in Bauer’s case the Mets actually offered more total money, however, he opted to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for three years at $102 million, due to his ability to make $85 million in the first two years, and the ability to opt out of the deal and become a free agent after either the first or the second year.
As a result, fans have clamored for the front office to make a move for a big name via trade, and one name that has continuously been brought up is Kris Bryant, the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Bryant won the MVP award back in 2016, but has been a shell of his former self the past two seasons, and is in the last year of his contract, with eyes towards free agency after this season. Due to his recent drop off, and the scenario of him leaving for nothing remaining a possibility, the Cubs are exploring their options, including gauging his trade value. On the surface, the acquisition of a former MVP may seem like a slam dunk for the Mets, however many scouts believe that Bryant can be pitched to, there are holes in his swing, and this is not the same player who won the MVP back in 2016. But aside from that, the Mets already have players such as Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor and Noah Syndergaard as extension candidates, and the acquisition of Bryant may prevent the team from locking at least one of them up long term.
Not only that, but the team has J.D. Davis under team control for the next three seasons at a very team friendly number. While Davis has shown some struggles on the defensive side, he hasn’t been given an opportunity to settle in at one spot and get comfortable for a whole season as he’s spent time at third base and in left field. While he will likely never develop into a gold glove caliber defender at third, if he’s given time to settle in, he should at least be competent at the position. Not to mention he has shown immense potential at the plate, batting .288 with 28 home runs and 76 RBI in 600 at bats since being acquired by the Mets, proving that he deserves a place in the lineup, particularly at a team friendly salary of $2.1 million. If the Mets were to acquire Bryant, there would be nowhere for Davis to play.
Additionally, with Bryant likely just presenting a rental player with only 1 year left on his deal, and so many other players already on the roster in need of new contracts after the year, it really isn’t worth trading minor league talent. The Mets have spent much of this offseason trying to build up the upper level of the farm system with some major league caliber depth, trying to recover from many of the trades made by former General Manager Brodie Van Waganen, which depleted the upper levels of the farm system of much needed depth. The team has also made several key draft selections the past few seasons to add several prospects who are ranked inside of the Top 100 Prospects in all of baseball. The Mets should be looking to stockpile young talent and develop it for future years, not trade it away. And, if they are to trade away young talent to improve at a position like third base, it should only be if they were to acquire an extremely valuable young asset like Matt Chapman of the Oakland A’s, who is also under team control, not for an aging superstar on an expiring contract such as Kris Bryant, who’s best years appear to already be behind him. This is not to say that there is no scenario in which the Mets should accept a Bryant trade, rather this is saying, unless they find themselves discussing a deal that they cannot refuse, they would most likely be better off standing pat.
With the recent signing of Kevin Pillar, the Mets appear set on the offensive side, aside from potential depth signings. They should allocate the rest of their funds this offseason towards extensions to the aforementioned star players, a possible depth starting pitcher and most importantly to the bullpen, in order to find a replacement, such as Trevor Rosenthal, for the recently injured Seth Lugo. The allocation of their remaining funds to these needs would be a much smarter course of action then giving up players for a player like Bryant at a position that isn’t truly a need.