The NY Mets are entering spring training with some questions at shortstop and one team that could help with an answer is the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they reportedly could trade either Chris Owings and Didi Gregorius before the season and catcher Travis d'Arnaud could be in the mix, while the Yankees could also get involved with their own prospect in Gary Sanchez.
Hardball Talk reports that the Diamondbacks are using spring training to see whether Chris Owings and Didi Gregorius will win the shortstop job and whoever doesn't could get sent to the minors or they could end up getting traded. According to the Arizona Republic, general manager Kevin Towers will not shy away from a trade if it's for the right price and he mentioned overall that the team is looking for a catcher in any deal.
The report says that Towers is hoping to pick up a young catcher that could be a long-term backup for Miguel Montero and then take over and he said that the team would want a "top, upper-end starter" that is already in the higher levels of minor league ball. Towers has been known to make these sort of moves and if he sees either Gregorius or Owings starting to win the job, he could pull the trigger on a deal.
The Mets likely do not want to deal d'Arnaud after just picking him up for RA Dickey, but their shortstop position has been a weak one for some time and they are also looking to find someone else other than Rueben Tejada to play there this season. Tejada showed up to camp not looking how the Mets wanted and he hit just over .200 last season and that has led the team to be connected to Stephen Drew, but so far no deal has gone down. The Mets have been mentioned in possible trade talks with the Mariners for Nick Franklin to play short, but so far there has been movement on that. Drew is asking for too many years says reports in regards to the Mets and they also may not want to give up a draft pick for him since he had a qualifying offer extended to him.
The report says that the Mets and Diamondbacks had initial talks earlier in the offseason, but that the two sides have not spoken about a deal since the winter. The Mets have another option in Kevin Plawecki, but another source came out to say that Towers would rather have the higher level guy, while Plawecki won't make him pull the trigger. The Hardball Talk report mentioned the Yankees, as they could get a jump on the shortstop replacement hunt for Derek Jeter, as they have a high level catching prospect in Sanchez.
Towers said that Drew being on the market has kept trade talk at a minimum and that could change as time goes on in spring training. Cliff Pennington is more of a backup option with the Diamondbacks and the teams mentioned as in the market for a shortstop includes the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Red Sox, while the Mets also could jump back in for Drew.