With the trade deadline approaching, rumors are being kicked up.
Yesterday, there were several mentions on twitter from beat reporters that the Giants were interested in Bartolo Colon. In reality, the Giants are probably interested in two Mets players. With Cain down on injury, they need a starter, and Colon is one of the cheaper ones available on the market, and they need second basemen, Murphy being one of the most expensive ones the market.
The Cubs and the Mets have been hypothetically linked by writers all month. Both have Top 5 farm systems according to Keith Law. The Cubs have an over abundance of position players and the Mets have a lot of arms.
Complicating this is the Mets stance not to trade their young arms, this makes a lot of sense.
Complicating a Colon trade to the Giants is the next thing the Mets need to be ready next year is either a shortstop or an outfielder who can hit. Colon is not going to bring that from the Giants. Their best prospects that could be available in 2015 or 2016 are pitchers, their hitters are a ways away.
This is where a three-way trade would seem to make sense. It would require the Mets to send Colon to the Giants (and probably still pay a huge chunk of Colon’s salary next year). At that point, the Giants are receiving two years of an aging pitcher, but at a discount, making it easier for them to trade one of their higher level pitching prospects, or a collection of their mid-tier pitching prospects to the Cubs, who can then send over one of their middle infielders who can play short to the Mets.
Depending on the player the Mets would get in this hypothetical scenario, would change what the Mets need to do to get the deal done. For example, if the trade is for Starling Castro, they will need to eat way more of Colon’s contract to convince the Giants to trade over a better package plus the Mets would probably have to trade a prospect of their own directly to the Cubs.
I feel the chances of this happening are low, but it seems that for the Mets, trying to move a player like Colon or sell high on Plawecki, working out a 3-way trade to acquire parts of the Cubs system might be the way to go (without having to depart with any jewels in the system).
