Starling Marte

The New York Mets haven’t completely ruled out a trade for Starling Marte

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New York Mets interested in trading for Starling Marte.

It is no secret that Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting center fielder Starling Marte wants to be traded before the 2020 season. He recently said that he wants to play for a contender. Additionally, he also stated that he would be honored to play with the New York Mets.

The Mets proceeded to trade a couple of prospects for Jake Marisnick, a competent defensive center fielder. However, he is rather weak with the bat against righties, and his presence shouldn’t stop the team from pursuing Marte.

According to Jon Heyman, the Mets haven’t completely ruled out the acquisition of Marte, who is 31 years old.

Marisnick is only expected to make around $3 million via salary arbitration, and he is eligible to be traded at any time.

The New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates will talk at the Meetings

The Mets and the Pirates have several more days to sit down and talk about a potential deal involving the star center fielder. Heyman says that the teams will talk about the subject during the Winter Meetings.

Marte is Pittsburgh’s most valuable trading chip, and he is affordable, too. He will make $11.5 in 2020 with a 2021 club option for $12.5 million.

The Dominican had a bright 2019 at the dish, with a .295/.342/.503 slash line, 23 home runs, 25 steals, 97 runs, and 82 RBI. He accumulated 3.0 fWAR.

A spark for the lineup

While it’s true that the Mets could play Marisnich in center against lefties, and that other outfielders in the roster can play the position adequately, Marte would provide a spark near the top of the lineup.

His defensive play was weak in 2019 when he registered a -8.3 UZR/150 and -9 DRS in 1141.1 frames in center field. He was decent in 2018, however, with a 4.4 UZR/150 and +1 DRS. He is a two-time Gold Glove award winner in left.

The New York Mets may have competition, as other teams may be interested in trading for the All-Star outfielder. The Arizona Diamondbacks, for example, are shaping up as potential suitors.

Mets Interested in Trading for Starling Marte

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New York Mets interested in trading for Starling Marte.

The Mets are looking to improve in CF and have interest in the biggest name on the market, Starling Marte.

According to Jon Heyman, the New York Mets have interest in trading for Pirates CFer Starling Marte.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. The Mets have been rumored to be looking for a CFer all offseason to this point. Many have connected the dots to Starling Marte who has been rumored to potentially be on the market.

The Pirates are a team entering a rebuilding phase. They just fired their President, GM, and manager. They are looking to completely reshape their team. Moves like those usually come with selling off older pieces who are nearing the end of their contracts. Marte fits that bill.

Marte is 31-years old, and is under contract for 2020 at just $11.5 mil and he has a team option for 2021 at just $12.5 mil.  That’s an excellent price for the final years of Marte’s prime.

Marte is an excellent player. Offensively he’s one of the best CFers in baseball. He put up a 119 wRC+ last season, which was the sixth-best of any CFer in MLB.

Defensively it’s a different story. Marte isn’t a poor defender in CF, but he isn’t good either. He was above average in CF in 2018, but saw a steep decline in 2019. He’s now a fringe-average defender at the position, and that’s more likely to get worse than better.

He would bring a speed dynamic that the Mets have lacked for years as well. He stole 25 bases in 2019 and 33 in 2018. The Mets have been desperate for speed on the bases for years.

The issue was Marte has never really been about the player. It’s always been about what the Mets would have to give up in a deal for him. The deal would likely have to be centered around JD Davis or Dom Smith for there to be a real chance to get a deal done.

If not the Mets are likely going to have to look to deal multiple top prospects to get a deal done. Former Mets GM Jim Duquette outlined what he would expect the deal to look like yesterday on SNY.

A reminder that Jim Duquette was very close to the value of what the Mets ended up giving up for Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano last offseason. This would be a steep price to pay for Marte. Especially after dealing so many prospects for Marcus Stroman, Diaz, and Cano last season.