The blossoming 2017 campaign has already produced shocking results for both good and bad. Teams like the Chicago White Sox, written off by most experts, are seated in first place in the A.L. Central while the New York Mets are coming undone.
The White Sox hold the cards most teams around the league are searching for. After vowing to tear down a star-studded roster, Rick Hahn has a daily queue of interested buyers.
Players such as Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier and David Robertson will fetch a pretty penny while other veterans, Jose Abreu, Melky Cabrera and Derek Holland are searching for value (Abreu is the exception in this case given the abundance of quality first baseman around the league).
The Mets have been floated out as possible trade partners with the White Sox considering the hometown roots with Frazier and the disheartening decline of David Wright. Although Jose Reyes was brought in to platoon with Wright in a reunion of thunder and lightning, Reyes hasn’t cut the mustard early in the season. He’s hitting a meager .172 with a strikeout rate just north of 16 percent – an ominous premonition given Reyes’ game is predicated on his wheels and the ability to use them. Meanwhile, Yoenis Cespedes is dealing with a hamstring issue and Lucas Duda hasn’t seen action since April 30.
Additionally, pitching is a growing concern for the Mets after Noah Syndergaard left Sunday’s game with a torn lat, joining a muster of Mets’ pitchers with ailments. Steven Matz hasn’t seen the mound since last season while Seth Lugo remains on the DL.
Gotham’s Dark Knight Matt Harvey is still a wildcard, leaving Jacob deGrom, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler as the foundation of what was supposed to be a contender for the N.L. East crown.
deGrom will anchor the rotation as he has done consistently for the past few seasons, and Wheeler and Gsellman have promise. Yet, without a strong performance from Harvey and whatever Mets brass can plug in the fifth spot of the rotation, the Metropolitans are adrift in the N.L. East.
The White Sox are not going to throw the Mets a life raft, either. Frazier makes sense for the Mets as a plug-and-play move, but with Amed Rosario knocking at the door in Triple-A, it’s much less expensive to promote the shortstop, slide Asdrubal Cabrera to third and drop Reyes.
Moreover, if Sandy Alderson asked about Quintana, Rick Hahn might wonder if he’s being punked. Quintana, a workhorse and beacon of consistency, will net the White Sox at least two elite prospects, depending on the timing of a deal (two prospects is a bargain by most estimates).
The abridged version of this story is that the Mets just don’t match up as a viable trade partner with the White Sox. Alderson won’t give up Rosario in a deal and since the White Sox just extended Tim Anderson’s contract while snatching Yoan Moncada from the Boston Red Sox, another middle infielder for the South Siders is a dime-a-dozen.
Dominic Smith is an attractive slugger in Triple-A with the Mets, but he’s a first baseman – albeit a very good one – but unless Hahn deals Abreu (which is very unlikely to happen), Smith doesn’t fit into the White Sox plans. Outfielders are remiss in the Mets pipeline as are elite pitchers.
The rest of the Mets prospect lineup falls under a second-tier heading. For players of Frazier and Quintana’s caliber, the Mets would have to lop off a pound of flesh as a down payment with interest on the back end.
With the White Sox in the unlikeliest of places at the top of the division, while the Mets continue to sink, Rick Hahn has an abundance of reasons to hold onto his pocket aces until the right time to go all-in.
Matt Enuco is a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB covering the Chicago White Sox. Follow Matt on Twitter.
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