There have been rumors the Mets are not going to be willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold. That would leave the team with approximately $17 million to address the rotation, bullpen, center field, and general depth. As a result, we have heard Brodie Van Wagenen talk about having to be creative this offseason.

Jon Heyman of MLB.com confirms these rumors, and he notes the Mets “may need to move money to add significant money.” In his article for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal lays out just how the Mets may go about moving that money:

Trading infielder Jed Lowrie and/or reliever Jeurys Familia by packaging him with a low-cost, zero-to-three year player such as first baseman Dom Smith.

In a season where he made just eight pinch hitting appearances, Lowrie is due $10 million in 2020. Notably, the Mets are still unaware of what caused him to effectively miss the entirety of the 2019 season, and as a result, there should be serious concerns about what, if anything, he can contribute next year.

Familia is coming off the worst season of his career, and he is due $11.67 million in 2020 and 2021. Notably, he is due a $1 million bonus if he is traded to another team making him an even more expensive player to the team acquiring him.

Conversely, Smith was a revelation in 2019. After an offseason where he had his sleep apnea properly treated, he kept the weight off, and he was a much more productive player. In 89 games, he hit .282/.355/.525 with 10 doubles, 11 homers, and 25 RBI. That includes his feel good walk-off homer to win the final game of the season.

Smith cemented his reputation as a defensive first baseman with a 1 DRS in 118.0 innings. He also showed some versatility with his playing to a -2 DRS in 219.0 innings in left field.

Giving up a player of Smith’s caliber may be difficult for the fan base to swallow, especially when it is purely designed to dump bad contracts. What may be more difficult is that Rosenthal included this note in his article about Zack Wheeler‘s free agency noting White Sox, Twins, Reds, Rangers and Blue Jays are teams lining up to give him a $100 million contract.

As you may note, the Mets are conspicuously absent from that group. Seeing how it is being reported they need to move Smith to clear payroll, it is very likely the Mets may be out on other big name free agents this offseason.