The Mets finally agreed to trade Beltran this afternoon to the Giants for prospect pitcher Zach Wheeler (and more about him in a later article). In the deal, which is still awaiting league and Beltran approval, has been in the works for a while, and let's break it down.
In the proposed deal, the Mets receive one of the top prospects in the Giants farm system while the Giants receive a major bat for their lineup. The Mets will also pay for 4 million of the 6 million owed to Beltran and the Giants will not be able to offer arbitration to Beltran for draft picks.
There have been a lot of rumors in the last week ranging from the Mets will get top prospects all the way down to the Mets are crazy to think Beltran, a two month rental, is worth top prospects. To his credit, Sandy Alderson did not back down from his request for top prospects, specifically:
Phillies: Dom Brown
Braves: Mike Minor
Giants: Gary Brown OR Zach Wheeler OR Belt
When it looked like the Giants were going to win the sweepstakes, the thought was they would be giving up Gary Brown (Wheeler and Belt seemed like untouchables), so I was genuinely surprised today to hear the Mets were getting Zach Wheeler. In the end, I feel good about this trade. Part of me is sad because of how much Beltran has meant to the team over the last few years and because the Mets are still mathematically in it. At the same time, this trade feels good because the Mets got a lot for what boils down to a two month rental, with a slim but really unlikely chance of resigning Beltran in the winter.
Best of luck Beltran, and welcome to New York Wheeler.
