When it comes to starting pitching, the Mets have plenty of it. Something they lack is major league ready position players that are ready to step in at shortstop and left field. While we can speculate about Wilmer Flores‘ ability to hold down that job, it doesn’t seem like the Mets are ready to go all-in on him just yet.
Enter the Arizona Diamondbacks. Like the Mets with pitchers, they have an overload at shortstop. At the conclusion of the 2014 season, they had four players capable of playing short on the roster. They are Chris Owings, Didi Gregorius, Nick Ahmed and Cliff Pennington. While it might not make sense to trade Pennington and Owings right now, it may make sense to move Gregorius or Ahmed.
Gregorius will be 25 on opening day and had a very up-and-down season in 2014. He hit .226/.290/.363/.653 with 27 RBI’s and just 20 extra-base hits. That being said, he only played in 80 games this year with the Diamondbacks. Still, he hasn’t looked all that impressive in the majors despite tearing up AA and AAA over the past three seasons.
In 2012 he hit .265/.324/.393/.717 between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (AA) and the Louisville Bats (AAA) in the Cincinnati Reds system. After coming over in a three team trade that included Trevor Bauer and Shin-Soo Choo in 2013, he played almost that entire season with the Diamondbacks. 2014 saw him back in the minors where he slashed .310/.389/.447/.836 with AAA Reno in the Pacific Coast League.
Ahmed, another 25 year old middle-infielder, was also involved in a major trade early in his career. Drafted by the Braves, he was part of the deal that brought Justin Upton to Atlanta. Since the trade, he has spent complete seasons in AA and AAA with the Diamondbacks, where he was extremely impressive. While he doesn’t have a lot of power, he seems to get on base at a nice clip. In 2013 he hit .236/.288/.324/.613 at AA. In 2014 those number got even better in AAA where he hit .312/.373/.425/.798.
Both Ahmed and Gregorius have split time between shortstop and second base, but both are capable of filling the Mets pressing need.
According to Nick Piecoro of AZ Central, one scout said that “You’re not getting back Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom, but maybe you get back Rafael Montero” in exchange for Gregorius or Ahmed. Seems like a trade the Mets would certainly entertain.
Piecoro also makes the case that while Owings might have the most trade value, he is also now established as the teams starting shortstop. With Aaron Hill locked into another year with an immovable $12 million contract for 2015, the Diamondbacks will need to make a move with four capable middle-infielders on the roster.
Which player makes the most sense for the Mets to target? Tell us in the comments!
