It is officially trade season, the Winter Meetings begin this Sunday, December 4 and with a new collective bargaining agreement in hand, business is about to pick up on the hot stove.
Now that Yoenis Cespedes is back in a Metropolitans uniform, General Manager, Sandy Alderson will begin to shape his roster and ready his team for 2017. Joel Sherman of the NY Post takes a look at a potential blockbuster deal that could help the boys from Queens.
Sherman suggests that the Mets send Zack Wheeler and Jay Bruce to the Houston Astros in exchange for right-handed reliever Luke Gregerson and catcher/outfielder Evan Gattis.
It is an interesting trade on many aspects as Gregerson would give the Mets some much needed relief at the back end of the bullpen, especially with the uncertainties surrounding Jeurys Familia entering next season. Gregerson has been quite the steady reliever over the last few years.
In 2016, Gregerson pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a WHIP of 0.97 while picking up 15 saves for the Astros. He appeared in 59 games while throwing 57.2 innings. The trade could help the Mets get to that three-headed monster to close out games with a combo of Gregerson, Familia and Addison Reed.
The other part of this deal would bring the Mets some catching help in Evan Gattis. With the Astros recently dealing for Brian McCann, Gattis becomes expendable.
Gattis is not known for being a defensive whiz by any means but does pack a solid bat. In 2016, Gattis hit to a .251/.319/.508 batting line to go along with 32 homers and 72 RBI. Since making his MLB debut in 2013, he has hit 20+ homers in each season.
The Mets of course would be giving up Wheeler though in this deal, a pill that may be just too hard to swallow for this team. At the same time though, we have yet to see Wheeler now in two seasons and this is a win-now team. There is no telling what Wheeler may or may not be at this point.
It is an interesting deal, one that would bring the team a couple of pieces they could really use. As we approach the upcoming Winter Meetings, rumors are about to become plentiful. It is sure to be a fun and interesting time in baseball as the hot stove heats up.
