The NY Mets are gearing up for an important season for the franchise and as spring training goes on, trade rumors have come up with Ike Davis and Travis d'Arnaud and names like Nick Franklin, Brad Miller, Chris Owings, Justin Smoak and Didi Gregorius have come up in connection with those deals and there is a chance that New York could pull one off before opening day.
The Mets were mentioned in trade rumors involving both Ike Davis and Lucas Duda earlier in the offseason, but that never materialized and while they look like they will keep both for the start of the season, there is a chance a deal could get done. According to ESPN.com, the Mets were in the market for Nick Franklin or Brad Miller earlier in spring training, as the Mariners have an extra player at shortstop after signing Robinson Cano and now the Mets could be in line to snag one of those young players.
The Mariners had Franklin playing second base last season and Miller at shortstop, but Franklin is a natural SS and was playing out of position and now that Cano is in Seattle, the team has a glut of players at the position. The Mets have Rueben Tejada and the team would greatly like to upgrade at shortstop and they could use Davis or d'Arnaud to get that done. Hardball Talk reported that the Rays were also interested in Franklin and the Mariners now could use him as bait to get a pitcher, as they have injuries to Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker to start the season and that's two rotation spots to fill with players in spring training.
Davis rumors had him going to the Pirates, Orioles or Brewers earlier in the offseason and now the Mariners could also try and swing a deal with Smoak if they want a pitcher, as Logan Morrison or Corey Hart could potentially take over at first base if Davis didn't move in that deal. ESPN.com reported that Davis was in a walking boot this past week and while the injury was not considered serious, the team is being cautious and he will not be playing for a week.
Hardball Talk reported earlier in the spring that the Mets and Diamondbacks could potentially work on a deal, as Kevin Towers said that he could be open to trading either Chris Owings or Didi Gregorius. They have the same issue as the Mariners, as both players are fit for the position and Towers said the spring would determine who won the job. The report says that the team would be open to adding a catcher in a deal and that could end up being d'Arnaud if the Mets feel the deal is worth it since Tejada had such a rough season last year, hitting just around .200.
The Mariners are coming into a very anticipated season and so are the Mets after both spent a bit in free agency and while a deal isn't close, there is a good chance both sides could find something they like and a trade could go down ahead of Opening Day. Cano has said the team should add another pitcher and bat and this could be a way to do it.
