š„ HOT NEWS: Buzz intensifies around which assets the Mets could sacrifice in a bold push to acquire an eight-time All-Star talent ā”.DD
The New York Mets might have a hard time passing up on this potential trade.
The New York Mets turned a lot of heads when they executed a trade for former Texas Rangers second baseman and 2025 Gold Glove Award winner Marcus Semien in exchange for beloved outfielder Brandon Nimmo last week.
This showed that New York’s president of baseball operations, David Stearns, was dead serious when noting that he was going to prioritize run prevention when deciding how to improve the roster this offseason. While Nimmo wasn’t a bad defensive outfielder, the Mets’ infield is significantly improved with Semien up the middle, which was clearly one reason why Stearns pulled the trigger on this deal.
The trade also might suggest that Stearns is going to keep being aggressive on the market. What’s for sure is that New York won’t close any doors in finding ways to make this team most competitive for the 2026 season, especially when it comes to adding elite defenders.
And there are few better defenders than eight-time MLB All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, Nolan Arenado, who is currently playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Arenado was reportedly on the trade market last offseason, but made it clear that he would exercise his no-trade clause if he was dealt to all but a few teams. However, the 34-year-old has said that he’s more willing to accept a trade this winter after the Cardinals had a disappointing season and he showed regression at the plate.
Expert Makes Mets-Nolan Arenado Mock Trade
This willingness from Arenado was the basis of Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com making a hypothetical trade proposal that brought to elite defender to Queens in a November 27 article.
“Mariners get: UTIL Brendan Donovan
“Mets get: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (Marinersā No. 8 prospect)
“Cardinals get: OF Lazaro Montes (Marinersā No. 3 prospect), RHP Camden Lohman (Metsā No. 30 prospect),” Castrovince wrote.
He later added, “Here, the Mets take on the $37 million owed to Arenado through 2027. While his bat has sagged, Arenadoās glove is a hot corner upgrade for a Mets team clearly focused on run-prevention (as evidenced by their trade for Semien). And to offset some of the financial burden theyāre (ably) taking on, the Mets add the intriguing switch-pitcher Cijntje to their system.”
This potential deal (which Castrovince himself called “ridiculous”) would add a lot of money to New York’s payroll. However, Arenado in the hot corner would give the Mets one of the National League’s best infields while also securing a fascinating prospect in Cijntje, who pitches with both hands. And if money and their No. 30 prospect are all they’d need to give up, this would be a deal worth considering.
Therefore, there’s a case to be made that this deal wouldn’t be ridiculous for the Mets at all.
