The New York Mets are not the Yankees when it comes to spending in the offseason, but after opening the books for Curtis Granderson, the team is looking into trades involving Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda and they also could be in the mix for shortstops, including Stephen Drew as a free agent and Asdrubal Cabrera in a trade with the Indians.
The Mets signed Granderson last week just as the Yankees were inking Jacoby Ellsbury and now reports have the team looking at a number of trades, including with Murphy, who they aren't pushing to trade, but they are open to listening to deals. According to Hardball Talk, the Mets are willing to trade Murphy and are looking to deal Davis and teams like the Orioles and Rays are the top options, as they want a first baseman with some pop. The Mets are in the mix at shortstop for Stephen Drew and Cabrera, as they went after Jhonny Peralta and missed out and that is a position of need for the team.
The Brewers have been mentioned as a possibility and while a Ryan Braun rumor was going around, any deal likely would not include him. Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Indians are willing to listen to offers for Cabrera and that could put the Mets in the mix, especially if Cleveland is interested in Murphy or one of their other players they are looking to deal. Murphy is a solid option at second and he is 29 years old when the season starts after making under $3 million and hitting .286 last season with 13 home runs and 78 RBIs and he also showed some speed with 23 stolen bases and he was healthy all last season missing just one game. The Mets would like to upgrade going up the middle and this deal could help with that as they look to make improvements.
Davis looks like he will be the player to move despite getting sent down to the minors, as the Rays and O's are interested and with him under control on his contract until 2017, that could make him very attractive to other teams. The Mets signed Curtis Granderson and that's the biggest move they have made in a couple years, as they signed him to a four year deal worth $60 million. The team may have overpaid a bit, but after signing Chris Young, the team wanted to add another bat to the lineup and now the 33 year old comes in after hitting 40 home runs or more the past two seasons, although last season he was injured and had a .229 average and 15 homers in 214 at-bats and now he joins a lineup with David Wright.
