The New York Mets have been the biggest losers of the offseason so far. They missed the postseason this year and responded by losing Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso in a matter of days.
They’ve already seemingly replaced Diaz with Devin Williams, but they haven’t done anything to replace Alonso, who represents an even bigger loss. The Mets have options they can pursue, but it might require a dive into the trade market to find the Polar Bear’s successor.
Curt Bishop of St. Louis Cardinals OnSi recently predicted the Mets would swing a trade with the Cardinals for veteran first baseman Willson Contreras.
“Contreras does have a no-trade clause, but if the fit is right, then moving him would be a good idea for St. Louis,” Bishop wrote. “The Mets still hope to contend while the Cardinals continue to rebuild, and Contreras may be willing to waive his no-trade clause to play in New York rather than stay in St. Louis.
“The Cardinals can also get a lot for him if they eat some money. Teams will be more interested in him than Arenado, which makes a trade more likely.”
This could make plenty of sense for the Mets.
Contreras isn’t the level of player that Alonso is, but he wouldn’t take much prospect capital to trade for. If the Mets are willing to take on most of his contract, they could likely get him for one or two lottery ticket prospects.
It would certainly be a step in the right direction for the Mets, but they’d need to make a lot more moves to get back to the postseason.
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