The New York Mets have been discussing a deal with the San Diego Padres as they try to revamp their pitching staff, with the primary names including reliever Mason Miller and starter Nick Pivetta.
Talks between the two teams have been reported in multiple outlets, including MLB.com and The Athletic. The Padres’ goals in a possible deal remain unclear, but they’re looking to shed payroll, and they’re reportedly interested in some of the Mets’ prospects and younger positions players.
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A lot of names are being thrown around. The primary names for the Padres are relievers Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada, according to Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Will Sammon. But no specific Mets names have been leaked to the media, which isn’t surprising given that Mets GM David Stearns likes to keep his cards close to the vest.
Other Padres have been mentioned, including starter Nick Pivetta and outfielder Ramon Laureano being the most prominent. This, too, isn’t surprising given that Padres GM A.J. Preller likes to go big and splashy when he makes deals, although it’s unclear how much freedom Preller has to do that given that he’s basically a lame-duck GM right now and the team was recently put up for sale.
Stearns knows what he wants, however. Miller and/or any of the other relievers would fill big gaps in a bullpen that failed badly down the stretch last year, and Miller especially would fit well leading up to newly-signed closer Devin Williams.
If the deal was expanded or shifted to include Pivetta, he would give the Mets a temporary top-of-the-rotation starter while younger starters Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong continue to develop and emerge. Laureano could replace recently-traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo in left, but that’s a lot more speculative.
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The Padres would likely want at least one of those three in any major deal, so that’s where the horse trading starts in earnest. McLean is rumored to be untouchable, but Sproat or Tong could probably be had if the return was high enough and the fit was right.
From the Mets perspective, any possible deal with Preller and the Padres should be taken with a grain of salt right now because of the sale announcement and the fact that Preller remains unextended.
Beyond that, though, there’s a fit here, and some possibilities to extend the deal as well. The bet here is that some kind of deal does happen, but Stearns has been very systematic so far as he goes about his offseason roster makeover. Mets fans aren’t happy about losing several of the team’s big stars, but a Miller-for-Sproat deal with at least one other Mets prospect thrown into the mix makes sense as the basic framework for a trade.