On Tuesday, Christmas came early for Mets fans as their star outfielder agreed to a 4 year deal with the team worth $110 million. Fans and teammates were overjoyed by the news, knowing that there were now endless possibilities for the team now that they had taken care of their number one priority of the offseason. However, many aren’t sure where the 2015 National League Champs will go from here.
In terms of needs, it’s hard to point to a very specific weak point of the team. However, the Mets are still facing significant question marks. The team is not sure what it will get out of David Wright who is coming off neck surgery, or where he will even fit in the team now that Jose Reyes is back. Plus, after setting a franchise record in 2016 for saves in a single season, Jeurys Familia is facing a domestic violence charge and possibly a suspension which is bad news for an already thin bullpen. The team has many options, but after signing Cespedes, any major free agent signings now seem out of the question.
The most talked about, and most likely option, is that the Mets trade Jay Bruce or Curtis Granderson for bullpen help. Both players are on contract years and are owed substantial amounts of money. Rumor has it the Mets would rather trade Bruce, who was a major disappointment after joining the team at the trade deadline. However, the team may be able to get more from Granderson in a trade.
Personally, I think it would be much smarter to move Bruce than Granderson. Upon arriving in New York, Bruce was completely out of his element. He could not adjust and consistently struggled at the plate. Granderson on the other hand, has played in New York for years with a tenure in the Bronx and three years in Queens. Granderson may be of more value to teams on the trade market, but he is also of value to the Mets. He is a cornerstone in the locker room, he was an essential piece in the playoff run in 2015, and in his tenure as a Met has reinvented himself from a 30 home run cleanup hitter to a leadoff man with power. The Mets already have big bats in the lineup, losing Granderson and keeping Bruce would mean that the team would find themselves with a feast or famine lineup, relying heavily on the longball for offense. That was the offense the team had for the better part of last year and it earned them a wild card loss.
If the Mets want to remain competitive, then they must remain a complete and versatile team. The best way to do that, is to keep Curtis Granderson and trade Jay Bruce. The returns for Bruce can’t be that much worse than those for Granderson, or at least not worth losing the veteran. When the time comes for the Mets to make a playoff push in 2017, the difference maker will not be the middle of the bullpen, it will be the heart of the lineup. That lineup is much stronger with Granderson than Bruce. While the front office has not showed which way they are leaning, they may pull the trigger in the coming days. Until then Mets fans will just have to wait and hope that Sandy Alderson’s magic touch does not wear off.
