The NY Mets are looking to make trade deals this offseason and names like Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Noah Syndergaard could be options, as the team is hoping to add a quality shortstop and names like Starlin Castro and Alexei Ramirez have been mentioned in connection with New York after the team signed Michael Cuddyer.
The Mets have depth in the starting rotation, as they are getting Matt Harvey back and also have rookie of the year winner Jacob deGrom along with Rafael Montero and Syndergaard. The team feels it can afford to move some of their starting pitching and veteran names like Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee have come up. The New York Post reports writes that Niese is the player the team would most like to trade, but his value has gone down in each of the past two years.
According to Hardball Talk, the New York Post reports that the Mets are "actively" looking to trade one of the three and they have already had discussions about the players with other clubs. The team knows it will not get a superstar player without adding prospects in the deal, but they are hoping to move some payroll around to try and get stronger offensively and in the bullpen. All three players are solid options and Colon is the most expensive at $11 million next season.
Dee should make around $5 million next year and he comes in with player options, while Colon will be a free agent after next season. Castro also has some pop for a shortstop, as he hit 14 home runs with a .292 average last season along with 65 RBIs. The Cubs may look at trading Castro this offseason, as they have players like Addison Russell and Javier Baez in the pipeline. Castro could net a top prospect if the Cubs pull off the deal, but right now the Mets are focusing on the veterans.
Last season Ramirez hit .273 with 15 HRs and 74 RBIs and he has shown some power from the shortstop position. Ramirez is 33 years old, but he has been a solid offensive option at a position where there aren't that many good hitters and he has been healthy as well. Over the past four years Ramirez has played in 158 games each season and before that he played in 156 games, 148 and 136 games in the previous three seasons. The price tag is a little high with his salary at $10 million for next season, but the Mets desperately need an upgrade at the position.
The Mets went 79-83 last season and finished in the bottom half of the NL East, but with the Braves looking ready to rebuild, the team has a chance to make a run to the wild card. The team has added Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer in the past two years and now they could look at making trades. The team needs some offense, as they ranked 21st in runs, 28th in batting average and 27th in slugging last season. The pitching was once again a strength ranking ninth in ERA in the league.
