With Steve A. Cohen now officially at the helm of the franchise, many believe that the Mets will now be big spenders because of Cohen’s pocket. That may very well be the case. Cleveland superstar Francisco Lindor has been in trade rumors for months now and the rumors have heated up the last couple of weeks. However, the Mets should NOT pull the trigger to acquire him at this point in time.
Earlier this week news came out of Cleveland saying that Lindor will likely be traded by Opening Day. There has been speculation for a long time now that the Indians are going to trade the Gold Glover because they are a small-market team and Lindor is a top player who is due for a massive contract next year when he hits the open market. The Mets are a big market team and may be willing to spend. Lindor is arguably the best shortstop in the game, only 26 years old, and a multiple-time All-Star as well as Gold Glove winner. The Indians are going to want a boatload for him and the Mets should not give in.
The Mets have made 2 blockbuster deals in the last 2 years, acquiring Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz from the Mariners, as well as getting Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays. Neither of these deals have worked out for the Mets to say the least. Rather, they have been great deals for the 2 American League teams they traded with. In these 2 trades, the Mets gave up Jarred Kelenic (a current top 10 prospect) Justin Dunn, Simeon Woods Richardson as well as Anthony Kay.
All 4 of these guys were top prospects on this team. With all 4 of them now gone the Mets farm system is now considered to be one of the worst ones in MLB. Trading for Lindor would further deplete the Mets farm system. He would probably cost at least a top prospect or two as well as a major league ready player. Currently, the Mets’ top prospects are Brett Baty, Matt Allen, Ronny Mauricio, and Francisco Alvarez. The Mets team is not getting any younger and in order to trade for a player of this magnitude, you would need to give up some good young talent which would leave the Mets with even fewer players to build around a couple of years down the road.
Additionally, adding a shortstop right now is not a top priority or a necessity for the Mets. They have 2 extremely reliable everyday options already in Amed Rosario and rookie Andrés Giménez.
Rosario was the number one prospect in all of MLB just 3 years ago and Giménez showed a lot of promise in his first go-around in the majors. Giménez might be the guy the Indians would covet in a potential trade and there is no way the Mets should even think of trading him away. He showed gold glove potential at multiple positions, led the league in stolen bases at one point in the season, and also had a decent bat.
In addition to Rosario and Giménez, the Mets top prospect right now is Ronny Mauricio, and he too is a shortstop. The Mets already have a plethora of options at the shortstop position and adding another one would not be a wise decision.
Lindor is a superstar and trading for him would boost the Mets chances of winning a pennant. However, the Mets don’t need a shortstop right now and likely won’t need one for the foreseeable future. Especially with Cleveland likely demanding a ton for a top player like him, and the Mets already having a weak farm system to begin with. The Mets should not be willing to agree to terms with the Indians.
Photo: AMNY
