The NY Mets made a splash with an early signing of Michael Cuddyer and now the team may look at trade deals for a shortstop, as that is one of the big needs and names like Starlin Castro, Troy Tulowitzki, Alexi Ramirez and Brad Miller could be potential targets and this comes as the New York Yankees are also interested in some of those SS names to help replace Derek Jeter.
The Mets have been connected to Castro since last summer and with Tulowitzki on the market they also could look at him as a shortstop option. The Mets likely will not want to spend a ton of money and that makes Castro the better option over Tulo, especially since he is under team control for a numbers of years. According to ESPN.com, the Yankees are interested in Alexi Ramirez and they have also been mentioned in regards to Tulowitzki, while the Mets have been interested in Castro and could trade a young pitcher to get that done.
The Cubs made a trade this summer with the Oakland A's for Addison Russell and he is considered to be one of the best shortstop prospects in the game. The Cubs can afford to trade Castro and they need starting pitching and that could lead to a deal between these two teams. The Mets appear to be willing to spend a bit more than expected this offseason and signing Cuddyer to a two-year, $21 million contract could just be the start.
The Mets signed a 35 year old to a two year deal, but with many of the outfielder options asking for more money on the market, this was a sound move to make. Cuddyer was injured last season and played in just 49 games, but during that time he hit .332 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs and that could be a nice bat to add for the Mets. The team now has Cuddyer, Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares in the outfield and that is an upgrade over what the Mets had last season.
Joel Sherman at the NY Post gave the Mets a solid review of the deal and while he has some reservations about Cuddyer's age and injury issues as well as his hitting away from Coors Field, he grades it as a worthy risk for the Mets. Losing the 15th pick in the draft is tough, but for a team that has drafted well for a number of years and has asked fans to be patient, they needed to start making moves for right now. Cuddyer is a solid player and he could end up being an offensive threat for the team and that is what they desperately needed.
The Mets have a playoff caliber starting rotation and now many see this as just the first move of a few they could make. The shortstop position has been one of weakness and the team could afford to trade one of their young pitchers for another bat. The Mets have struggled to win and to bring fans to the stadium over the past five years and this is a step in the right direction, even if it's a move for now and not for the future.
