On Monday, Steve Cohen reacted on his Twitter feed to the San Diego Padres acquiring starter Blake Snell from Tampa Bay. Then on Tuesday, the Padres surpassed the Mets as the busiest offseason team and acquired starter Yu Darvish from the Cubs.

Cohen’s newsflash is no secret, as Sandy Alderson has discussed the need to bolster the Mets farm system ever since taking over as team president. This is why the Mets are looking at holding on to their prospects, as they look to create depth in their farm system.

The Mets eventually want to be in the same position as the Padres. In the meantime, they will probably spend with caution to meet their needs.

Even though the thought of Francisco Lindor or Nolan Arenado on the Opening Day roster is enticing, replenishing a depleted farm system is a priority for Alderson and his GM Jared Porter.

You need to give in order to get player’s like that and simply put, the Mets can’t afford to give away what they have on the farm. This is due to the previous GM, who had a philosophy of winning now at any cost. 

If successful, this philosophy could be sound, but the Mets did not make the playoffs in the two seasons in which they were trying to win now. And that has hurt the Mets. They would love to pull off a trade for Lindor. And with Robinson Cano money off the books, a void in the infield, who would not want the All-Star Lindor in the lineup?

For now though, the Mets situation shows they can’t wheel and deal with other teams as the Padres have shown the ability to in past few days. 

Newsflash, the Padres sacrificed and built from within. With the Mets, this is not a newsflash.  

So Steve Cohen has done his homework and looked at the accumulation of Padres prospects. A.J. Preller the Padres general manager had a model the past decade and sacrificed with losing seasons. He acquired and held on to young prospects and the Padres plan has come to fruition. 

Back in August, Preller pulled off six trades in two days ahead of the deadline. They had the resources to trade 16 players and many close to the major league level.

The past few days there were nine more prospects available to obtain Snell and Darvish. Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack add to their rotation. Mike Clevinger, also acquired in a trade for prospects from the Indians is expected back in 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Again that tweet had more of an impact on the vision for Steve Cohen. They hope to acquire more prospects in the long run, giving them more assets to pursue deals in the future.

So what is the point of this?

Simple, the Mets need a front-line starter as there is no guarantee that Trevor Bauer is going to be their next big splash in free agency. 

Tuesday, a source informed me that Tampa Bay reached out to the Mets about a possible trade for Snell. The Rays are unloading contracts in a rebuilding mode and that is attributed to a major loss of revenue from a short 2020 season.

The asking price for Snell? Prospects. Of course the Mets could not answer. They could not provide the almost ready major league talent that would fit for the Rays in their rebuilding plan. 

A good Mets offseason is the signing of McCann and if they can acquire George Springer. The perfect offseason is signing the trifecta of McCann, Springer, and Bauer. Either way, signing two of the three is a success. 

In between, and as slow as it has been, the Mets are not looking at giving away prospects or draft picks in a major trade. So all of the Francisco Lindor trade talk with Cleveland, as good as it sounds, should not be taken seriously. 

A trade of that magnitude would require parting with the prospects that Sandy Alderson has vowed to keep on board. 

The Mets need to rebuild their depleted minor league system. And Steve Cohen is certainly aware of that need. 

Rich Mancuso: Twitter@Ring786  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso