Gabriel asks…
What would it take to acquire Mookie Betts from Boston? I like the idea of getting him much more than the Mets going for Yoenis Cespedes. For a kid his size (5’9″, 155 lbs), there’s a lot of power there while he has room to fill out, and he would fill a need for the Mets out of the leadoff spot.
Tommy replies…
Betts is a very solid prospect, although not an elite prospect. He plays second base, although the Red Sox have tried turning him into an outfielder to accommodate Dustin Pedroia. Betts was called up in June and hit .291/.368/.444 with 5 homers in 52 games.
What would it take for the Mets to get him? I’m not sure. Probably a nice pitching prospect, or maybe a “real” pitcher. I’m not sure if Jon Niese would be too much. Probably not. Rafael Montero plus another good but lesser prospect might do it. But these days, hitters and hitting prospects, are very expensive in trades, which is why we have been hearing about the Mets needing to give up multiple premium prospects for shortstop prospects who aren’t all that impressive… So I’m inclined to say Mookie would be expensive, too expensive for him to be worth it.
But more importantly, I don’t think it’s a move the Mets should make. They have Murphy. They have Flores. They have Herrera. If they’re going to be dealing pitching (which is the likely outcome in such a trade), they should be filling holes, not adding to their cluster at 2nd base. I don’t think Betts is the guy. If we’re trading our pitching prospects and our pitchers, we should be bringing in established bats.
Cespedes, on the other hand, brings big power and gives us a solid player in left field, which is something we do not have right now. He only has 1 year on his contract, which makes it a risky trade, but also makes him cheaper to acquire. And once the Wilpons bring in a guy like that, you can bet the pressure will be on to pony up and keep him around if he performs.
I suppose if the Mets wanted to get fancy, they could swap 2B for 2B, since Murphy makes much more than Betts and every dollar matters in terms of patching up this team’s holes, but I’m not sure that works for either team… again, the Red Sox are completely set at 2B themselves.
These two teams match up in some areas, but both teams have a logjam at 2nd base, so neither team is well-suited to clear up the other club’s logjam.
