The rumors are finally over; the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners have made the trade official. Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz are heading to New York, while Jay Bruce, Anthon Swarzak, Justin Dunn, Jarred Kelenic, and Gerson Bautista are heading to Seattle. To put it simply, this is a strange trade for new Mets GM, Brodie Van Wagenan, that puts a great deal of emphasis on the next few years to win a World Series. From speaking to Met fans, giving up Kelenic is worrisome. Kelenic was the Mets’ first round pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. As reported by Buster Olney of ESPN, scouts believe that Kelenic’s floor is to be an above average player, while his ceiling is to be a star in the MLB. If that proves to be true, the Mets would have given up a consistent, productive, and athletic center fielder. The Mets are not known to have a great farm system currently and to give up a players like Kelenic and Dunn speak volumes as to how close Brodie Van Wagenen thinks this team is to winning a World Series.
Robinson Cano is 36 years old and can still reasonably be expected to be the New York Mets’ best hitter this coming season, despite the PED suspension he served last season. Cano’s hitting numbers have never been in question and he will serve as an upgrade in the immediate future for the team. However, one of the main concerns is just how long can the Mets expect to get the best version of Robinson Cano? What is Cano going to look like for a full season if he is not taking PEDs? These are questions that we will have to wait and see to get an answer on, but one thing is for sure, with all things equal, the Mets are better in 2019 with this trade.
Last season, Edwin Diaz put himself in the conversation to be crowned one of, if not the best, closers in Major League Baseball. He is young, and the Mets will have him under control for four more seasons. Gaining a talented, young closing pitcher who has already proven he can succeed at the big league level is a wonderful acquisition for the Mets in theory, but it does not solve all of their problems. Jacob Degrom had one of the best single seasons you will ever see from a starting pitcher and barely scratched double digit wins because the offense could not score runs for him. Yes, the bullpen was not fully supportive of Degrom, but by and large the problems were offensively. Having a dominant closer like Diaz does not mean a whole lot if the Mets cannot generate enough offense to create save opportunities.
With many other needs left to fill, Met fans are hoping Brodie has a well thought out plan in place. With the Phillies linked to Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, adding a 36 year old second baseman and a young budding superstar at closer, is not going to put you over the top of the National League East; more moves have to be coming from the rookie GM and hopefully for Met fans they revolve around finding an upgrade at the catcher position.
Brodie Van Wagenen said in his opening press conference that the Mets were going to plan to win now and, at the very least, is holding true to his word. What is next Brodie?
