Per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, the Chicago Cubs are among “several” teams interested in acquiring Mets RHP Seth Lugo. He reports that they “love his spin rate and think he has breakout potential.”

Crasnick reports that the Mets aren’t motivated to trade him because, despite his health issues, he is young and affordable. Further, in an underperforming rotation missing some of its biggest names to injury, he has been pitching fairly well.

After last night’s win, Lugo, 27, is 5-2 with a 4.10 ERA, 4.25 FIP, and 1.348 WHIP this season. In 52.2 innings he has walked 14 and struck out 34.

This is great to hear, also considering the Cubs are interested in Rene Rivera. Any team looking to acquire Lugo or any of the Mets young starters would know going into negotiations they would probably have to overpay because the Mets don’t have to trade them.

That being said, if this deal can get the Mets a good, young third baseman and fill out their infield then it’s something Sandy Alderson should consider. No, I’m not saying Kris Bryant, he’s likely going to be a Cub forever.

The Mets would likely package Lugo and Rivera in a deal, in return something like Javier Baez and Ian Happ would be ideal. Baez would play third base and Happ would play second with Amed Rosario at shortstop and Dominic Smith at first. That is likely how the infield would remain for years to come.

Baez, 24, is hitting .267/.305/.466 with 12 home runs, 33 RBIs and a 91 wRC+. He can play pretty much any defensive position and he can play it well, but his best positions are second and third base. In 167 career games at second base he has a 3.7 UZR and 13 DRS, while in 80 career games at third he has a 4.8 UZR and 4 DRS. He would be a major defensive upgrade over any second or third basemen the Mets currently have.

Happ, 22, has hit .255/.326/.509 with 13 HR, 34 RBIs and a 114 wRC+. He is not quite as good defensively as Baez, however he is solid at second base with an 0.2 UZR and 2 DRS in 124.1 innings this season. He can also play any outfield position, however he is fairly weak out there with a -1.7 UZR and -2 DRS in 348.2 innings this season.

Should Sandy opt to trade Lugo and/or Rivera to the Cubs, these are two names that should certainly be in the conversation. It seems unlikely that Sandy would trade Lugo, however if the Cubs or another team were to blow him away with an offer, it would be prudent to take it.