Photo by Chris Simon
When the Mets traded Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs for Javier Baez and Trevor Williams, I was not a fan. While the ownership of Steve Cohen was a step in the right direction for this ball club, this felt like a trade that would happen under the Wilpons’ tenure.
Baez is a good player, no doubt. But trading a relatively recent first-round pick — even if there were health concerns — for a rental with a sub-.300 OBP was just asking for trouble, in my opinion. Baez is a flashy, exciting player who comes with some blatant flaws. It felt like a desperation move from the Mets at the trade deadline after they missed out on the top targets.
Baez payed well with the Mets, hitting .299/.371/.515 in 47 games after putting up a .248/.292/.484 line in 91 games with the Cubs. Yet the Mets still floundered into mediocrity, not even sniffing the postseason. The trade, at least in the short term, didn’t pay off, and that’s even with Baez playing better than expected.
The question now, obviously, is whether they should re-sign him. For as much as I dislike the trade and the concerns I have with Baez’ approach at the plate, I would still learn toward the Mets bringing him back. Regardless of what you think about the trade, the past is the past, and since Baez is already on the Mets, you might as well keep him there. If you want any chance of the trade looking beneficial for the Mets in the long term, keeping Baez is a necessity. The fact that he seems to enjoy playing in New York and he’s friends with Francisco Lindor helps as well.
Baez certainly isn’t the only option though. Here at MMO, we posted a Twitter poll on Friday asking fans to choose among Baez, Kris Bryant, Nicholas Castellanos and Chris Taylor. Baez easily won out, but Bryant was a solid second. Personally, I prefer Bryant due to his upside and his on-base skills. If the Mets were to sign Bryant, I would be okay letting Baez go. In the long term, I would feel much more comfortable with Bryant than Baez, as I think his skillset will age more gently.
Of course, that would mean that the Mets traded a first-round pick for 47 games of Baez, which isn’t ideal. I still hold firm that the trade was a mistake, and that’s never going to change. The trade, under all the circumstances at the time, was simply not a smart move. But there’s no point in dwelling on the past, especially for a team that is desperately trying to turn its fortune around.
Re-signing Baez would certainly lessen the blow of the trade. If Baez were to help the Mets to a championship in the coming years, it would most definitely lessen the blow of the trade, regardless of how well Crow-Armstrong pans out. It wouldn’t change the fact that trading a first-round pick for a rental with a sub-.300 OBP is and always will be a poor decision, but at this point, the Mets need to do anything within the realm of possibility to bring a championship back to Queens.
That some point goes for Bryant as well. If the Mets sign Bryant and pass on Baez, the trade would likely sting a bit more for Mets fans, especially if Crow-Armstrong goes on to become a solid player. But again, if Bryant were to help the Mets to a World Series victory, all of that would essentially be meaningless to these fans, who are starving for a championship more than ever.
One thing’s for sure, though: The Mets can’t be complacent. They can’t stand pat and expect the team to magically perform better. Every year the Mets go into the season with a boatload of “ifs.” They need to be aggressive and be the team that makes the big headline news, not the team that settles for the lesser option after the big move is already made.
