The New York Mets on Thursday agreed to make a six-player deal with Cleveland, who will swap All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor and right-handed starter Carlos Carrasco in exchange for a package led by shortstops Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario.
That Lindor and Carrasco were traded this winter should come as no surprise. Lindor will qualify for free agencies after the 2021 season, and Cleveland’s ownership has made it clear that he was not worth paying him to retain his services. However, Carrasco would veto its 10-5 rights in the coming season – the power to trade that provides ten years of service and five with the same team.
That the Mets were involved shouldn’t be a shock either. New owner Steve Cohen, who is estimated to be the richest sport, is committed to building a World Series club. The addition of Lindor, a kind of franchise, without sacrificing much in terms of the big league or the farming system, is no big deal. Even if the Mets fail to extend Lindor – and the ball is in their court to do so in the same way the Los Angeles Dodgers did with Mookie Betts, it’s probably not a trade they regret. is not going to be.
We here at CBS Sports are nothing, if not judgmental. As such, we decided to break down the trade while giving grades to each team. Let’s now move on to the part of the effort, beginning with a summary of the moving pieces:
- Mets received: SS Francisco Lindor, RHP Carlos Carrasco
- Cleveland received: SS Andres Gimenez, SS Amed Rosario, RHP Josh Wolf, OF Isaiah Greene
Degree obtained: A
This is the kind of staggering acquisition the Mets had to make in the past and often under Cohen’s ownership, in terms of both the headline and the method – they were pitting owners who did not want to pony up to retain their best players in town. The fact that the Mets were able to untie Lindor and Carrasco without sacrificing anything they will miss is an impressive work from new general manager Jared Porter.
Lindor is a star, of course. Prior to the pandemic, he played four consecutive seasons in which he amassed five plus Profit Above Replacement. The only players with more war over the past five years than Lindor are Mike Trout, Betts, Nolan Arenado and Jose Ramirez. (It does not reflect the basic operating philosophy of baseball that four out of five could possibly be traded within a three-year period.)
Lindor can do it all. On the board, he is a switch that makes hard contact and that runs without knocking out a ton. On the base roads, he is an effective thief who can sweep bats by volume. In the field, he is an excellent defensive shortstop. If you do not like it, you can point out that he has struggled with leftists for the past two seasons (although it is unclear how much of this can be attributed to a small sample size), or that he … makes decisions with hair dye that others will defense. by? You really, really need to achieve what is the surest indication that he’s a franchise player.
It is unclear what kind of contract Lindor has on his vision board. Under normal circumstances, he would be justified in shooting more than the Anthony Rendon deal (seven years, $ 245 million) and hope that inflation’s gentle breeze pushed his demand into the wind, much closer to the Mookie Betts extension ( 12 years, $ 365 million). . Now? Who knows. This uncertainty should theoretically help the Mets’ chances of retaining Lindor.
Carrasco’s addition should also not be overlooked. He comes from a season in which he posted a 2.91 ERA (157 ERA +) and a 3.04 hit-to-step ratio. Beyond 2019, when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, he is a reliable above-average starter who serves as a reputed figure in the clubhouse.
Carrasco uses three pitches with a good effect: a high-speed 94 km / h with a high turning speed, a slider and a change he used last season at a career-high frequency. It’s probably reasonable to call him a no. Set up 3 appetizers, with the potential to produce even better than that. Carrasco is therefore a luxury for a Mets rotation that is already appearing with Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and eventually Noah Syndergaard.
Carrasco is also not renting. His contract guarantees him $ 27 million over the next two years. Depending on how he pitches between now and then, the Mets could exercise a club option for the 2023 season that will pay him an additional $ 11 million.
No matter what the Mets do next – and to be clear, they need to stay aggressive on the high quality target – this trade is a huge boon to their 2021 chances. Depending on how one evaluates the players replacing Lindor and Carrasco, it is possible that as many as five wins will be added to the Mets projection. These are the kind of wins the Mets have to make if they are to knock the Atlanta Braves off the top of the division.
Cleveland Degree: D
To describe Wilco, there is no love that is more arbitrary than that of an owner. Summarizing this trade as a story of two ownership groups is simple, but it provides a handy frame device, so here goes nothing. On the one hand, you have the totally invested Cohen, who does his best to make people forget that he has inspired headlines that explain why he is not in jail; on the other hand, you have the weary Larry Dolan, who alternates between the point of his franchise’s nickname and the destruction of his front office’s leverage with his public indifference.
As good as Cleveland’s front office is – and it’s a team that has had the second-best wins since 2013 – it’s hard to beat an owner who handcuffs the baseball industry division. Here’s a case where it appears that Cleveland could not rise above Dolan, even though this trade contains the components we expected a Lindor trade to be.
Gimenez, 22, has five years of team control left after spending the past season in the majors. He also put better numbers than expected on the board, batting 0.63 / .333 / .398 (102 OPS +) with eight steals on nine tries. He’s probably the closest thing this trade has to a centerpiece and a sure thing, but that does not mean he has a star-caliber ceiling. On the contrary, Gimenez is likely to settle as an appetizer in the second division. He is a smooth, skilled defender who will mostly have to replace Lindor defensively. Where he can not compete is on the board, where he does not run or hit the ball hard. Gimenez’s striking ways also make him easier to defend and thus clinch his batting average.
Rosario, the group’s veteran, is about to enter his 25th birthday. He still has three years of team control, but it’s an open question whether Cleveland wants to keep him that long. Rosario appears to be a non-tender candidate as he performs like last season, with 0.252 / .272 / .371 (76 OPS +) without eliminating positive underlying indicators.
The first decision Cleveland has to make with Rosario is to decide where to play him. They could open the season with him soon if they want Gimenez to enjoy more spicy league spices. Alternatively, they could throw him to second base to replace Cesar Hernandez, or even midfield to replace Delino DeShields Jr. to take in. Rosario does not have much experience in the outfield, to be clear, but the center has long been rumored potential destination for him due to his speed and his struggles on the ground. Wherever he plays, he will have to hit more to stay in the city long.
Both prospects are recent second-round picks with minimal professional experience. Wolf is a 6-foot-3 right-hander with upside-down rotation. There are excellent questions about his ability to impose a substantial workload, but Cleveland has a good record with evaluating and developing pitchers that it is reasonable to give them the benefit of the doubt about his inclusion. Greene has an above-average power potential, though scouts who spoke to CBS Sports believe he will end up in the left field in part because of his below-average arm.