It was a deadline day for the New York Mets as they acquired two-time All Star shortstop Javier Báez and right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams from the Chicago Cubs.
On a day that saw the rival Atlanta Braves strike multiple deals to improve their team, the Dodgers acquire Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, and the Giants trade for Kris Bryant, the Mets knew they had to make a move to keep their name among the top of the NL contenders.
Friday afternoon saw Mets team president Sandy Alderson and general manager Zack Scott speak to the media about the trade and their thoughts on the deadline around the league.
When asked about why the team locked in on Báez as their main target for the deadline Zack Scott said “Javy gets the edge over maybe some other guys because he fits a direct positional need right now. He provides that versatility when Francisco does return.”
Later on Scott said a quote that can only excite Mets fans when he said “He’s not going to back down in this kind of market. He’s going to thrive in it. He’s fearless.”
Something to note as well was that team owner Steve Cohen was involved in talks this past week speaking frequently with Scott and “being very supportive of whatever it was that we wanted to do”.
Sandy Alderson went on to say that the front office felt they had to make a big splash for the team, “We needed to do something, not only to improve the team, but to demonstrate to the players that we had their backs and we’re attempting to make the team better for the next 60 games.”
Sandy also went on to say that prices were high from teams and never really went down which along with the high amount of buyers made this deadline different than ones we’ve seen in years past.
When asked about how they felt the Mets stacked up to the three-headed monster of the NL West, Zack Scott said, “I think we have as good a shot as anybody.”
At the end of the presser Scott also praised the teams positional flexibility when everyone is healthy, “We have some versatility, I think that alone will help us find the best spots for everyone.”
