Francisco Lindor to the San Diego Padres? Not quite a rumor, but with a pair of legs discussed extensively on the radio on both sides of the country and on social media, the idea of trading Francisco Lindor away from the New York Mets is the kind of massive turn no one ever predicted.
How real is it? None of the legitimate baseball writers we know to operate in fact are claiming there is any truth to it. While they miss often, we’ve come to expect just about anything from David Stearns this winter.
Until the pair of legs this “rumor” gets can crawl, it just doesn’t seem realistic. What about some other trade possibilities? We know we don’t want Xander Bogaerts, as some have suggested would be a part of the trade.
Because everything in the MLB offseason is a fight, let’s go with a lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight trade idea that could, maybe, realistically work.
Lightweight Trade: David Peterson and Chris Suero for Nick Pivetta
This is a lightweight trade yet impactful one. The Mets swap David Peterson for Nick Pivetta. Both teams keep the same number of starting pitchers on their roster with the Mets seemingly improving with Pivetta over Peterson; or maybe not.
What the Padres do is rid themselves of a player about to earn nearly $20 million this year for a guy who’ll get about half in arbitration. It saves them some dollars which is one of the main factors in any trade we should expect the Padres will make.
The Mets courteously add in prospect Chris Suero. A fascinating prospect who plays catcher, first base, and outfield and has pop, there are a lot of unique things ahead for him if he continues to improve at the plate. He batted .233 this past season with 16 home runs. He ranks as the 15th best Mets prospect.
Not high on Pivetta? Too much to include Suero? Choose another position player prospect that can bridge the talent gap between Peterson and Pivetta.
