According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, Mets centerfielder Angel Pagan is drawing interest from at least one team that has contacted the Mets, but also speculates that Carlos Beltran will likely be the only player the Mets will move before the deadline.
Pagan has taken a huge hit in value since his breakthrough season last year when he batted .290, scored 80 runs and played stellar defense. This season has been up and down at the plate for Pagan and he is struggling to get his average over .250 for most of the season.
Worse yet for Pagan has been an alarming increase in mental mistakes on the bases and in the field where he is now ranked as one of the worst defensive centerfielders in the game. Ironically, some scouts now view Beltran as the superior option in centerfield for the Mets.
Meanwhile, San Francisco centerfield prospect Gary Brown was a late scratch last night leading to speculation that he could be close to being dealt to the Mets in a deal for Carlos Beltran. If that is indeed the case, the Giants will have to offer him as a player to be named later as he is ineligible to be traded until August 1 due to MLB rules on trading recently drafted players.
Brown is having a solid season in Single-A-and would be years away from being major league ready. He was currently ranked #33 in Baseball America’s midseason prospect rankings.
The speedster is batting .313 in 390 AB with eight home runs, 57 RBI, 78 runs scored, and 39 stolen bases. In many ways he is comparable to former Met Lenny Dykstra.
Here is a video I saw posted on NYBD of Brown from May 19th when he went 3-5 with a home run and made some sparkling defensive plays.
With Pagan looking more and more like nothing but a fourth outfielder at best, and recent injuries to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Fernando Martinez, the Mets do need a top outfield prospect in the pipeline and Brown would be a worthwhile addition.
