When I hear the last name Jones, the three things that pop up in my mind are Chipper, Andruw, and my disdain for the Atlanta Braves. The trade
winds have been whirling and there are now rumors that Andruw could be
coming to New York as a Met to play right field. Now if one was to
place trades on a scale from not happening to packing the bags and
heading over to a new city, this trade is unlikely and closer to the
not happening side. According to Olney,
the Dodgers and the Mets have kept the “porch light on” for trade
discussions (he gives the Mets moving Castillo a 50/50 chance).
However
if it does happens, a lot of dominoes would fall: The trade would only
happen from a Mets perspective if Castillo was shipped off to LA. That
means now there is an opening for second base on the Mets. The Mets
have wanted Hudson for a while, and its not a secret, and he is still
on the market. He would make a great addition to this new, intense
lockeroom with Krod and Putz. So by trading for Jones we are effectively receiving Hudson as well, and his above average bat in the
lineup. Hudson is also a more ideal number two hitter behind Reyes
because ever since Castillo’s decline and LoDuca’s Decline, the Mets
have been hard pressed to find a consistent number two hitter in the
lineup.
The other side is that at this point the careers of
Jones and Castillo, Jones has more upside (please, take the word “upside” with a grain of salt). While it wouldn’t be the
world’s most ideal outfielder fix, it’s better than nothing. There is
then the question of pressure. Jones has been facing pressure since
going to the Dodgers to be their source of pop in the lineup. That
pressure would be gone in New York because he would be in the back of
the lineup. However, there is then the pressure of New York, which is
generally unpredictable. In the end, if this trade happened, I wouldn’t be terribly excited for Jones coming into town, but I would be excited for Castillo leaving and the possibility of Hudson coming.
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