19
2012
Amazin’ Hypotheticals: A 3-Team Trade Between Mets/Rangers/D-Backs
An article by 
Earlier today I was reading a post on MetsBlog about possible trade rumors that we could hear this offseason. In the comments section I noticed a trade idea that Dan Wexler proposed.
The trade involved the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal would send Justin Upton to Texas and Elvis Andrus to Arizona. Obviously this deal would be broadened to included at least one other player going Arizona’s way should it ever come to fruition. It would work though since Texas could lose Josh Hamilton in free agency and Upton could take over in right field for them in 2013.
Why would the Rangers want to deal Andrus? They have arguably the top position prospect in baseball in Jurickson Profar who happens to play shortstop.
So my thought is – What if Texas keeps Hamilton? Could a similar deal still be accomplished?
Last December, the Rangers were said to be interested in Ike Davis. Obviously nothing came out of those rumors since Davis is still the Mets first baseman. However I’m sure that if they had interest in him then, they might still have some interest now since they have yet to find an answer at the position. Mike Olt could end up being the answer, but he is a third baseman by trade.
Arizona dealt shortstop Stephen Drew to the Athletics at the deadline and will certainly be looking for a replacement come the offseason. Elvis Andrus could be a perfect fit. The Mets are starved in the outfield at pretty much all three positions. Not to mention if they moved Davis they would need power even more than they already do. This makes Justin Upton a great fit for the Mets. Arizona was said to be discussing moving him around the deadline and could definitely revisit the idea after the season.
The three-team trade I propose…
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Mets get Justin Upton.
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Rangers get Ike Davis.
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Diamondbacks get Elvis Andrus & a second piece from the Mets.
This second piece could be of a wide variety of players. Names that could work off the top of my head are Jordany Valdespin, Colin McHugh, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Bobby Parnell.
This trade could work for all parties involved… It fills major needs of each organization all in one trade. These types of trades are very rare in MLB.
For the Mets in particular they could then move Lucas Duda to first base for 2013, and could possibly find himself on the block following the end of next season if Wilmer Flores continues to progress in the minors. I’ve been clamoring for the Mets to consider him as a future first baseman candidate for a while now.
About the Author: Benjamin Yoel
Graduate of St. John's University. Majored in Sports Management. Torn on where career will take me next. Considering Baseball Operations, Scouting, and Journalism. Writer for Metsmerized Online & StLucieToFlushing.com. Devout #Mets fan.
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I admire the creativity. Imagine a scenario where the Mets trade for Justin Upton and follow that up with sign BJ Upton as well where 2013 the Upton brothers find themselves playing together starting in CF & RF in a Mets uniform?
Yeah I know, keep dreaming.
It was an Amazin’ Hypothetical at least. I’ll give you that.
Yes, that is my fantasy as well NJ. Reuniting the VA boys. Heck if you have to trade Ike then go out and get their other buddy MR. K… I mean Mark Reynolds to play 1B and you will have the boys back in town for sure.
Reuniting Wright with those two would be something and will create instant impact for 2013. It may even let Wright stick around and give us a generous hometown discount. I read a few times years ago these three are close and keep in touch. Wright would have a positive effect on them and maybe even get them to reach those lofty expectations.
Agreed, at that point you might let Wright get a little closer to FA if he isn’t willing to sign that hometown discount.
But what do we do with the other VA boy? I’m talking about Ryan Zimmerman – from Va. Beach? And then we have Justin Verlander from the Richmond area and schooled at Old Dominion in Norfolk. Justin was actually a couple of years behind everybody else and was their batboy. The last Tidewater boy is Michael Cuddyer – from Norfolk. Lot of us in the ML to round up!
Wish Norfolk still had the Mets AAA team. Grew up there, it was always cool to goto a game and try to guess which player would develop into the next Mets star…. Harbor Park is a great minor league ballpark.
I’ve had that dream many times. It would be great especially given the fact we need a CF. I expect he will get a huge offer from someone else and will fall out of the Mets price range though.
Honestly there is no reason they shouldn’t be able to come up with the money for Upton. The problem would be him wanting to play here.
They could easily offer him something like 6M, 14M, 10M, 10M to get to 4/40 if that’s his market or 6, 14, 10M whatever it ends up being.
I’m sure if we landed his brother he would definitely have interest in playing here. The only problem is the Mets still want to re-sign Wright & Dickey which doesn’t leave them with a hell of a lot of money to sign B.J. Upton. If it were 2014 and Bay & Santana both were coming off the books it would be a different story.
See below, get creative. Sign him for less this year and more the next.
I would think BJ playing with his brother would be enticing as far as a reason to sign with the Mets if they were to somehow actually be able to trade for Justin.
Agreed and as I said I can’t see the O’s picking up Reynolds option so you could go get him and throw him at 1B if Davis is traded. The VA Boys! Funny thing is they were all on the same legion team I think.
A triumvirate of Norfolk VA: Wright, Justin and BJ
Like I said you then have to go after the 4th horseman or the D’Artagnan of the bunch. Doesn’t really matter if you like him or not. LOL.
How much you think BJ would want? I don’t think he’ll be as expensive as Reyes last year, do you?
Honestly I have seen anything from 3/27 to 6/60 so that is why I settled somewhere around 3/30 plus options or 4/40.
I’m thinking more like 5/75 or 6/90
I Just don’t see it but who knows where the market goes.
I’m just not a big fan of J.Upton. I know he’s still only 23 or 24 years old but he’s too inconsistent and Chase Field is still way more hitter friendly then Citi Field. I’m a huge fan of Ike Davis and think that he can be great with time. I think we all know he is a guy who will hit .260+, with 30+ HR power and a great defensive player at the other hot corner. I’d rather move Duda to an AL team to DH or play in a smaller ballpark and see what we can get for him. Probably not much, but anything would be nice because I don’t see him as a fit in the Mets OF and I prefer Ike 100% more at 1B.
Justin Upton has had a down season no doubt. And Chase Field is definitely more of a hitters park. But he is just 25 and I expect him to bounce back in 2013. I’m a huge fan of Davis as well and i’d much rather move Duda. But the fact remains that Davis is MUCH more valuable than Duda. If you can get a power hitting OF and plug a huge hole with Davis and then move Duda to 1B for 2013 it’s something to consider. Wilmer Flores could be the teams 1B come 2014.
Of course to do that trade you do need a 3rd party as you suggest because the Dbacks don’t need Davis.
I know you don’t address this in this article and it has nothing to do with it, but would you trade Jon Niese this off season? People say he could garner more then what Oakland got for Trevor Cahill but less then what they got for Gio Gonzalez. If they get that type of package, would you trade Niese? I’m in support of that as much of a fan as I am of Niese.
Ben, thanks for a solid post that can at least have us talking about solutions rather than rehashing the same problems everyday.
I aptly named it Amazin Hypotheticals and if you or anyone else come up with more posts like this in the future, we’ll stick with that feature name.
Absolutely! And I like the name (Amazin’ Hypotheticals)
I’ll try and come up with more as the offseason begins to take shape. This one jumped into my mind when I saw Wexler’s idea between AZ/TEX. I really think it’s something that could work for all teams involved.
I’d sign up for this anyday and it seems to help all three teams.
Same. As much as I love Davis you need to trade talent to get talent.
Very well thought out.
I love me some Justin Upton….I think he’d be perfect in NYC.
Thanks!
I believe the Rangers would want starting pitching for Andrus. The Rangers already have a top power hitting prospect in Mike Olt who has been filling in at 1B
I wrote that about Olt in the article. He’s a 3B by trade though.
I think the Mets would be getting the worst/least valuable to them of the 3 players in that deal to be honest.
If they had to trade Ike, I’d rather get Andrus and some specs. Sorry I’m just not into Upton and honestly I hope he gets dealt somewhere soon so we can stop talking about him. He’s a product of his ballpark, and he’d hit the opposite end of the homepark spectrum here.
I still don’t get why that continues to get ignored. He plays in a 0 pressure town and an offensive friendly park and he got mad when he was boo’d in Arizona and he thrives in Arizona and struggles everywhere else.
In 59 Citi Field PA he has 1 HR and 3 doubles. Obviously small sample size, but you take that and pair it with his .930 Arizona OPS to .734 OPS and you got trouble.
I’d rather have Ike or Andrus over Upton. Creative thought but I’m tired of Upton. He’s overrated and if the question is would I rather Ike than Upton, my answer is Ike.
Fair enough.
Good points as well. I always like when people bring valuable stats to the argument.
But as you said it’s a small sample size. And you have to remember a lot of those AB’s came in the old Citi Field dimensions. I think he would fair much better in the new ones.
You’re probably not wrong but my issue is not just Citi Field, its away from Arizona. He’s a different hitter (drastically different).
If this was Carlos Gonzalez in Colorado, everybody would argue Coors Field is responsible for his splits and he’s not worth looking into. It’s a fair point for CarGo, which makes it fair for Upton.
Personally if you told me they could deal Ike for Andrus – I’d probably bite. It’s be hard to but I think the future benefits would be in the Mets favor.
I would never deal Ike for Andrus. Even if we didn’t have Tejada I still wouldn’t make that trade. I like Andrus but Ike’s power is valuable to this team. That’s why getting a power bat like Upton would lessen that power loss.
Jessep “I think the Mets would be getting the worst/least valuable to them of the 3 players in that deal to be honest.”
Ike Davis (26) 1,123 AB – .251/.335/.453/.788 – 53 HR – 3 SB – 0 ASG – 0 SS
Justin Upton (25) 2,604 AB – .276/.356/.474/ .829 – 106 HR – 76 SB – 2 ASG – 1 SS
Of course you do.
I wonder why?
Ike hits at home like Upton hits on the road. It’s a wash. I’d make that deal if it meant we get BJ with him. Put Duda at 1B and Kirk and Hairston can platoon in LF. That’s not a bad lineup.
The Mets need more power, not less. Justin Upton is slugging .410 for his career away from the second best hitter’s park in baseball. I’d rather try to sign BJ. At least he will shore up the outfield’s defense.
he is also right at the point where guys often break out for their peak power years.
upton could relaly bust out in the right situation and “big stage”.
as long as he doesn’t come in trying to be a huge HR guy, and selling out for citi field. that could be a problem!
and with the double hypothetical Upton plan, an OF of say Kirk, BJ, Justin would certainly a hell of a lot better defensively than what we have been seeing lately!
Stevie Wonder could be our right fielder and we’d call it an upgrade.
I would consider becoming a season ticket holder again if they did something like this and I’m not kidding either.
this particular deal may not be it, but you make a good point. the team needs a serious shake up and talent adjustment. Standing pat and tweaking is not going to work, so what the hell, roll the dice with some big, bold moves. Might work, and if not, what have you really lost?
Has anybody even seen Justin Upton play? He has insane power, probably only behind Stanton and Harper. The ballpark really wouldn’t make much of a difference.
you should tell that to him since he’s slugging .410 for his career on the road.
I don’t agree at all. Andrus is a great player and he has value but let’s not pretend he’s Derek Jeter.
They need an upgrade at 1B in Texas and they have a replacement for Andrus at SS in Profar. This deal would actually make a lot of sense for them.
“Andrus is a great player and he has value but let’s not pretend he’s Derek Jeter. ”
Any team that had him (possibly including the Yankees! LOL)) would trade a Jeter for an Andrus. Time is running out on Derek. Elvis will be playing when Derek is in his rocking chair.
Obviously…
I was just making the point that Andrus isn’t exactly a superstar. He’s a really good player and one of the best defensive SS in baseball.
Sorry Ben, But I would like to keep Ike and give him a bat behind him (maybe even Upton). I think Ike is part of solution. I think giving Ike for Upton is not even or upside. The only thing he might have over Ike is speed and Ike can do more with HR and RBI’s than Upton.
We don’t have the type of FO who could ever pull off this kind of deal.
Question-
If we’re (hypothetically) trading Ike, who’s gonna be our 1st baseman? Certainly, ya’ll don’t believe Duda is the next one in line. No chance in hell. Only way I’d like this is if a team like the Cubs stepped in and made this a 4 team swap. The Cubs have TWO 1st basemen in Anthony Rizzo & Bryan LaHair, and they would look into doing some more rebuilding this winter. It wasn’t long ago that the Cubs wanted to put anyone except Castro on the market. What would make it any different from Texas wanting Davis? If we’re parting with Davis, Rizzo should come to the Mets. LaHair, although falling off this year (sophomore jinx), could be talked about as well going to Texas with Ike going to Chicago. Shame it won’t transpire.