Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that the Mets have not yet written off Wilmer Flores as their No. 1 shortstop.
However, he adds that the consensus among in-the-know observers is that at some point they will need to pull the trigger and obtain a top-tier shortstop if they truly plan to capitalize on their standout pitching and contend before prospect Amed Rosario, 19, is ready to contribute in a couple of years.
With respect to the Chicago Cubs, who are stocked with young cost-controlled middle infielders, Rubin says any deal faces a potential uphill battle because Mets officials remain insistent that they will not deal any of their young, MLB-ready pitching.
If the Mets stick to that insistence, Rubin writes, it makes you wonder why Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein would be inclined to deal with the Mets.
May 12
Do the Mets and Cubs matchup for a trade? The short answer is yes, but it’s complicated.
This past offseason was fraught with rumors and speculation about the Mets and Cubs getting together on a trade that would have New York moving one of their pitching prospects in return for a shortstop prospect.
Some of the names being bandied about included Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler from the Mets, and Starlin Castro and Addison Russell from the Cubs.
And while both teams admitted they were having an active dialogue, they never got close on any deal.
Despite being ideal trade partners, the problem is that neither team is eager to part with its top prospects, and both would require a major haul to do so. In other words, the Mets found the Cubs’ prices too high, and vice-versa.
Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein had a huge trump card in dealing with the Mets. They were flush with a huge cash influx and their attitude was, “we don’t have to overpay with our top prospects for pitching, we have the money for Scherzer or Lester.”
The Cubs were ready to spend significant money on pitching, and didn’t feel any pressure to sacrifice any of their blue chip prospects.
The Mets on the other hand have no such luxury. They went out and signed Michael Cuddyer early in the offseason and by the time the Winter Meetings arrived it became clear the spigot had run dry.
At the time, the most obvious trade chip the Cubs wanted to move was Starlin Castro, who the Mets viewed as “talented but flawed” according to a Daily News source. The Mets preferred to deal for Addison Russell, but the Cubs wanted a major, major, overpay and that’s never been Sandy Alderson’s style.
Javier Baez was also someone the Mets liked, but John Harper of the Daily News reported last December that the Mets front office didn’t believe the Cubs would trade him even if it was for Noah Syndergaard, who “they have scouted repeatedly.”
Here we are five months later and I don’t believe anything has changed. Some of those players that were in the discussion have gone from prospects to major leaguers, including Syndergaard who makes his MLB debut tonight at Wrigley Field.
When asked if there’s any chance the two teams get together on a deal, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer joked about it Monday. (Mike Vorkunov, NJ.com)
“I’m sure it’ll happen at some point,” he said. “It hasn’t happened yet. The media has been trying to make a trade between the two teams for years.”
Vorkunov concludes that while Epstein says he speaks with Alderson regularly, he maintains that the two sides have never been close on any deal. And the roadblocks to a trade now are seemingly growing.
I would agree with that assessment. Things looked much more easier to make a trade months ago and they got nothing done, Now with most of these kids being as good as advertised at the major league level, things just got more complicated.
