In a new report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets’ blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners will “definitely” not process tonight.
Sherman had alluded to the deal being held up by medical logistics earlier in the afternoon, with the physical results of one unknown player in the current web of Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Justin Dunn, Jarred Kelenic, and Gerson Bautista still pending.
The framework of the deal remains the same in terms of the players involved, though per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, money is again the culprit. The remaining question is said to be centered around the amount of money Seattle is willing to send the Mets’ way in lieu of Cano’s remaining five years and $120 million owed.
While Andy Martino of SNY had previously contested that the Mets would be receiving roughly $60M in support (thus slicing the burden in half), this development has been rendered null and void, as the Mariners (via Passan’s sources), are expected to send over something “likely to be in the mid-$20 million range.”
This is obviously a disappointing step back from the previous rumors, which, if true, would have saved the Mets about $94M in total salary (counting Bruce and Swarzak’s contracts). Instead, they would be granted enough to reduce Cano’s annual fee to $20MM, while still parting with two of their three most recent first-round draft picks in Kelenic and Dunn, though still saving money in shipping off the two free agent signings in Bruce and Swarzak.
Of course, nothing has yet to be formally declared, and negotiations are expected to, per Sherman, “slog [through the] weekend.”
