John Harper of the Daily News suggests that the Mets and Yankees could really help each other out and proposes a trade that would fill some significant needs for both GM Brian Cashman and his Flushing counterpart Sandy Alderson.
With the Yankees acquiring reliever Aroldis Chapman and still in need of a starter for the rotation, the buzz is that Cashman will likely deal closer Andrew Miller to acquire those missing pieces. Harper proposes trading Miller and Brett Gardner to the Amazins for Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, and Alejandro De Aza.
From the Mets’ perspective they finally pick up that top level left-handed reliever they’ve been craving for the last two years, and one of the best in the business at that. There’s no doubt that Miller and Familia would shorten games and form a lethal combination in the back of the bullpen.
Meanwhile, Gardner would give the Mets a left-handed center fielder to pair with Juan Lagares and he would take over at the leadoff spot while giving the team the speed they’ve lacked in recent years.
Miller and Gardner would cost the Mets an added $23.5 million in payroll, but sending back De Aza and his $5.75 million salary makes the deal palatable even for a couple of cheapskates like Fred and Jeff. Both Miller and Gardner are under team control through 2018.
The Yankees would have to wait three months but eventually they get a potential No. 1 or 2 type pitcher in 26-year old Zack Wheeler, and until he’s ready Rafael Montero can pitch from the back of the rotation. De Aza also fills a valuable utility outfielder role for the Yankees and should be good for 140 games covering all three outfield spots.
Harper bounced this trade off a major league scout who told him: “Gardner would help the Mets, but Miller would be a real game-changer. To me, that’s a major question mark for them right now — who can they depend on in that pen other than Familia?”
“”The Mets need to try to win right now, before their young pitchers all start making big money. And the Yankees, I think, are really just trying tread water until their big contracts expire. So I do think that trade would work for both teams. If they weren’t in the same city, they might do it.”
The stumbling block might be the Mets’ hesitation in dealing a young hard-throwing arm that could be a Cy Young caliber starter.
I typically detest these hypothetical trades, but must admit that on the surface, this one isn’t too shabby. Still, I think I’d pass.
