El rompimiento: posible socio comercial potencial de los Yankees de un club rival
The Mets have some intriguing rentals to offer, but it’s unclear if they’ll sell at all or if they’ll be eager to assist the Yankees.
Let’s discuss something that was (until last night) taboo in New York professional sports: negotiating a significant deal with your city rival. For owners and front-office executives, the risk is too great, regardless matter whether a deal makes sense on paper or if the clubs are in separate leagues or conferences. While losing a deal is never easy, being taken advantage of by the team that plays in your market is an error you will never forget. But maybe things in baseball are about to change after Friday night’s NBA megadeal, which sent Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in return for five first-round selections from the Brooklyn Nets—the first trade between the two teams since 1983.
In 2022, reliever Joely Rodríguez was dealt by the Yankees to the Mets in exchange for Miguel Castro in a trade. The previous big leaguer deal (that wasn’t an outright acquisition like Luis Torrens) that occurred before that rather insignificant reliever swap was Mike Stanton for Félix Heredia in 2004. There have been sixteen transactions between the two teams since the Mets’ inaugural season in 1962.
That being said, there are new situations. According to Andy Martino, the Mets refrained from pursuing Aaron Judge in 2022 due in part to their “mutually respectful relationship” between the two owners. So maybe they can set aside the dangers related to public opinion and close bigger deals.
Whether the Mets will truly be sellers is the second factor to take into account when evaluating them as a trade partner. Their May was a terrible one. In response to a remark about blowing up the team in mid-May, owner Steve Cohen was said to have set the stage for selling back then, saying, “All in the future, not much we can do until the trade deadline.” The post has since been removed from X.
This, to me, was Cohen telling us not to worry about trade discussions just yet because there is still a few months till the deadline, and until then, no deals could be made.
But the Mets have improved with a 14-6 record in June. To put their current winning streak more precisely, they have gone 10-2 since June 12th, when McDonald’s mascot Grimace threw out the opening pitch. When things quiet down, perhaps they can set up a first pitch with The Hamburglar. Nevertheless, the NL Wild Card scenario is incredibly disappointing, which has put them in a difficult situation.
The Padres presently hold the final NL Wild Card slot, and the Mets are one of five NL clubs that are at least three games away from it. Two more teams are located slightly farther away. For the interest of clarification, New York’s odds on FanGraphs have improved to an unsatisfactory 37.7 percent. It was 7.9 percent on June 2, a few weeks ago, when things were at their lowest point. Though the Mets are probably not talented enough to contend for a World Series, teams in the hunt for a postseason spot will be considering a run akin to the Phillies’ in 2022 and the Diamondbacks’ in 2023. In addition, the Mets under Cohen might believe that, despite their record-breaking expenditure, they must settle for the minor victory of earning a Wild Card position, even if they probably won’t acknowledge it in public.
The big question for the entire 2024 deadline is “Will they trade Pete Alonso?” Alonso, who has 16 home runs this year after two straight seasons with 40 or more, has remained a dependable slugger. He’s making cuts.240 wRC+ and.322/.466 caliber. Even though the Yankees have an opening at first base and a fondness for big bashers, it would be difficult for the Mets to deal him away at all, especially to their crosstown rivals, because he is a homegrown, well-liked personality.
