Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Updated Post – July 9, 8:00 PM

Sources tell me that the Cubs are heavily scouting the St. Lucie Mets this week as Chicago makes the transition to sellers.

We know the Mets have shown interest in Kris Bryant before and are likely to again this month. The sources told me two names that interest the Cubs are Jaylen Palmer and J.T. Ginn.

The 20-year-old Palmer is a Flushing native that’s slashing .253/.375/.333 with six doubles and four triples in his first full season stint. He also ranks fifth in the league with 19 stolen bases (two caught stealing). He has played second base, third base, and center field this year. He also has played shortstop in the past.

Palmer is  the Mets No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Ginn, the Mets second rounder from last year, has a 3.04 ERA and 0.98 WHIP through six starts this year. He’s the Mets No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline

Original Post – July 9, 10:51 AM

According to Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of the Athletic, the Chicago Cubs have already decided on a direction to go at the trading deadline: they will be sellers and look to move expiring contracts.

The Mets are heavily mentioned in this article from Rosenthal and Mooney, first through how the Cubs can maintain leverage in this year’s market. The note that “highly competitive owner such as the Astros’ Jim Crane or an eager newcomer such as the Mets’ Steve Cohen eventually could push their respective GMs to jump, particularly if they sense division rivals getting stronger.”

Most importantly, the two note that “Even before that losing streak reached 11 games, the Cubs had begun shifting their pro scouting coverage, focusing on low-level affiliates of teams likely to add major-league talent this month. A Cubs scout was recently spotted at a Low-A affiliate of the Mets, a team so heavily linked to Bryant last winter that he received a “Welcome to the Mets” text message from an unidentified Connecticut phone number.”

Bryant, 29, has cooled after his hot start to 2021. Bryant is now sitting at .268/.349/.498 with 16 homers and a 130 wRC+. The 2016 MVP has played all over the field for the Cubbies this season, logging at least 80 innings at five different positions: first base, third base, and all three outfield spots.

Other names the Mets could be interested in include closer Craig Kimbrel, starter Kyle Hendricks, and a plethora of relievers that includes, but is not limited to LHP Andrew Chaffin, RHP Dan Winkler, and LHP Rex Brothers.

The Mets and Cubs have been linked to each other effectively since Steve Cohen purchased the Mets, but even more so now that both teams are run by executives off the Theo Epstein tree.

The trading deadline is set for July 31st. Metsmerized will keep you up to speed with all the latest news and rumors as the march for October begins.