00:00Mets need to get in on early trade talks to save season, even if those deals are unlikely.
00:06That's the headline entitled to our New York Post MLB Insider John Heyman's article up on the website.
00:12Go check that out.
00:13But let's discuss who the Mets could actually trade for with our Mets contributor, Tyler Ward.
00:19Wardy, saw you at Citi Field yesterday.
00:21We're on the Zoom right now, man.
00:23I'm liking the one-two punch, the one-two combination.
00:25Here's how we're going to do this.
00:27I'm going to throw out some names that Heyman mentioned in his article.
00:30Then I need you to give me a likely or unlikely that the Mets trade for that guy and then
00:36give us your why or why not.
00:38We'll start with Christian Walker, Astros first baseman.
00:41We know the whole post-Pete Alonzo era has just gotten off to a disastrous start.
00:49Yeah, Christian Walker is a fascinating one because he was a player that was mentioned throughout the offseason as potentially
00:54a viable option to replace Alonzo.
00:56So not that you're going to really replace the power that comes with Pete, but more so just in having
01:01stability at first base.
01:03You know, Christian Walker has definitely had his levels of success, but he's at a point in his career now
01:08where the best has obviously came and went.
01:10That was during his time in Arizona.
01:11Now in Houston, he along with another player that we're going to get into today, find themselves in a bit
01:15of a conundrum where the Astros really don't need either of these two players.
01:20And Walker does bring a level of stability for you to first base, but he doesn't really bring too much.
01:26I think is going to be a drastic needle mover, especially someone who's been more in the smaller market his
01:31entire career.
01:32So do I think the Mets need to go out of the way for someone like Christian to bring stability
01:35right now?
01:36I don't know how much it would hurt, but I also really don't think it would be to this club's
01:40benefit with the team 11 games below 500 right now.
01:43Next guy on the list is another Houston Astro.
01:46That's Isak Paredes infielder.
01:49Likely or unlikely the Mets go after this guy?
01:52I would say it's unlikely that the Mets go after Isak Paredes because he falls in the category again of,
01:58you know, a player that has been very up and down with his defensive value.
02:01He's not too far off from a Mark Vientos in the sense that he's not going to really bring you
02:06too much to be happy about from the base running nor the infield defense.
02:10More of a bat first player.
02:11And if the bat isn't there, then you're going to have yourself a problem.
02:13You know, Paredes has thrived by being in, you know, especially batter friendly parks, whether it was his time, obviously
02:19in Tampa where he thrived and broke out or obviously what we're seeing to a degree in Houston for half
02:24a season.
02:25He had that little stretch in Chicago, as we know, but Paredes, again, not a terrible player, but still falling
02:31in that category of if the Mets brought him in, really how much of a difference maker is he going
02:35to be for this team?
02:36And I'm drawing a blank at the time of us talking right now.
02:38All right.
02:39Yandy Diaz raised first baseman.
02:44This is where we're going to have a little fun, Brandon.
02:46Okay.
02:46Yandy Diaz is, he's the guy of the conversation today, undoubtedly.
02:50Okay.
02:50This is a player that myself and fellow other talking heads of the community have been heavily advocating for throughout
02:55the offseason.
02:56Because while Yandy is not the most defensively sound first baseman, and you can make the argument that would be
03:01kind of, you know, contradictive to why the Mets should be bringing him in.
03:06The Mets have one of, if not the worst offense in baseball.
03:09And what is Yandy Diaz?
03:10An absolute certainty with the bat.
03:12Okay.
03:12He's batting .330 this season with 50% of bubbly average as a header, courtesy of Fangraphs' WRC+.
03:18He has four home runs, 20 RBIs on the season, 30 games.
03:21Yandy is a consistent .300 hitter in his career for the most part.
03:24He gets on base at a tremendous clip.
03:26Last year was .366.
03:27Right now it's .421 a month in.
03:29And even though he's at the young age of 34, Yandy brings so much stability with the bat.
03:34So much so that the Mets are in desperate need for a bat like Yandy.
03:38They were hoping that they would get more stability and consistency with someone like Bo Bichette.
03:42That's failed miserably a month into the season.
03:43So how do you kind of recoup things a bit?
03:46You bring in a player like Yandy, who has, I believe, one to two years left on his contract right
03:50now.
03:51Again, not getting younger, and he is definitely a bat first player.
03:54But the difference between Yandy and, say, Paredes that we talked about is that this is a bat first player
03:59that hasn't let up with the bat.
04:00That's the most important thing.
04:02He's been consistently one of the more high-quality hitters in the American League for the past half-decade plus.
04:06And him in this Mets lineup would do wonders for them right now with the lack of certainty that they
04:12have.
04:13So out of everyone that we've discussed so far, I have Yandy Diaz here.
04:16There's a significant gap.
04:18And then you get to the Christian Walkers and the Paredes of the world.
04:21All right, well, let's see if this next guy can kind of fill in on that gap, and that's Jorge
04:24Soler from the Angels, DH, and outfielder.
04:28Where does he fall within that gap?
04:31You know, I think he falls below Yandy, and here's why.
04:34I like Soler.
04:36He has tremendous power.
04:37He has some snarl.
04:39Let's not forget that little scuffle he got in with his former team in the Atlanta Braves like two weeks
04:43ago.
04:44Soler is just one of these guys that's a gamer, very Feaster fan with his offense.
04:48One right, again, he could be an absolute weapon for you.
04:50I mean, there's a reason why he helped the Braves a couple years ago go on the World Series winning
04:55run that they did after they traded for him, because he does have an impact bat that can change the
05:00game with one swing.
05:01And the Mets are in desperate need of power, and he would help provide that, no doubt.
05:06But the big concern with some like Soler is not just the lack of consistency that you get in a
05:10player like him, who he is very swing and miss, but it's more so when you have a log jam
05:14as is kind of at the DH position and at the corner outfield.
05:18So, like, what's the thought process?
05:19What's the thinking behind, say, Mets, Pobo, David Stearns?
05:23Does he prefer to have another guy come in where he's more of a first base, pardon me, DH corner
05:28outfield option?
05:29Or does he prefer someone that has a bit more versatility?
05:32I think right now the Mets, it goes without saying beggars can't be choosers.
05:36Okay, they're in the beggar category right now, to say the least, being a bottom feeder in baseball, the worst
05:41in baseball.
05:41So, Soler would most certainly help on the power front, but on the consistency front, again, Yanni Diaz takes the
05:48cake, and it's not even close.
05:49Is there a name out there that we're not mentioning or we're not talking about right now that you feel
05:56as though the Mets could likely trade for to try and help save this season?
06:01You know, if I'm being completely transparent, Brandon, I think you mentioned him slightly in Yanni alone,
06:06because Yanni's someone that the Mets really could benefit from, if, say, a hypothetical role where they do part ways
06:11with Mark Vientos and or Brett Beatty,
06:14you get rid of that log jam that you're doing with guys that just aren't getting it done nightly, they're
06:17at first base or other positions,
06:19you can have Yanni be more often than not your first base option, something that he's familiar with.
06:23Then once Jorge Polanco is healthy, you can have Polanco more at the DH position where he's supposed to be,
06:28and we could all be happy because before you know it, the Mets are going to have a pretty deep
06:31lineup pretty fast.
06:32Now, if I'm thinking of anyone else outside of our discussion today, there really aren't too many that come to
06:37mind just because of how early we are in the year.
06:40Like, this is an unprecedented situation that the New York Mets are finding themselves in.
06:44The fact that we're talking about trade targets on May 1st is really something that is beyond comprehension to some
06:51fans,
06:52because we did not have this on our bingo card entering the season.
06:54But if there's one player out there that we did not mention yet that I think could be viable for
07:00this New York Mets team,
07:01I don't know if it's as much just on the offense because it's hard to dictate which teams are going
07:06to be buying and selling this early.
07:08You're going to have to pay a king's ransom.
07:09But I think of the abundance of assets that the Mets have with their pitching staff going to the farm
07:15and how they could utilize that for good right now, specifically in helping getting more certainty for the bullpen.
07:21I think of the San Diego Padres still, and I think of when the Mets had trade talks with them
07:25this past offseason.
07:26That was widely reported.
07:28I mean, the Padres have an abundance of riches of relievers that would bode so well for this New York
07:34Mets team right now
07:35to help round out a bullpen that is very questionable at the moment.
07:38So to kind of get away from the offense, I would lean into a bit more on the pitching.
07:43The Mets have two to three kind of question marks and certainties in their bullpen.
07:47Fortify that a bit.
07:49Build your stability through your pitching.
07:50And then hopefully the offense will follow if you're able to make those separate moves.
07:54All right.
07:55Ward, appreciate you hopping on with us, my man.
07:58Of course.
07:59Always a pleasure, Brandon.
Comments