Cano Trade Sends Message That Mets Want to Win Now

The Mets - Mariners trade shouldn't have been a surprise. They have been talking about it for the last seven days. However, the pieces that were exchanged were a bit eye opening. 

I have blogged for the Mets for a few years now and just down the interstate from Seattle. I have a good feeling on these two teams. 

The Mets will be knocking on the door of a tight wild-card race next year if Bryce Harper leaves the nation capital and the Mets stay healthy. They won 77 games last year but it was a decent year if you take away their forgettable June. Getting Cano boosts their offense for a loaded and deep pitching staff that will work with a closer next year that has been lights out his entire career. 

For the Mariners, winning a division has never seemed farther away as of this morning. The Houston Astros and Anaheim Angels control the division for the next 2-3 years and therefore, going into a rebuild is a difficult move but the right move to make. Trading Cano is a positive as it looked like he was untreatable when he signed the lucrative contract years ago. Unfortunately, what they got back is a bit soft considering their prospects are younger. 

For package coming back to Seattle is Bruce, Swarzak, Kelenic, Dunn and Bautista. Five players coming back but non of their Top prospects. Kelenic and Dunn are #3 and 4th respectively while Gerson Bautista had a 12.46 ERA in five games last year.

If you look over the Mets lineup when they were on fire at the start of the year, they rolled out a lineup like this on their 13th game of the season:

Mets Hitting

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	AVG
M. ConfortoCF	3	1	0	0	0	.250
A. Cabrera2B	4	0	0	0	0	.321
Y. CespedesLF	4	0	1	1	0	.208
J. BruceRF	4	0	0	0	0	.239
A. Gonzalez1B	3	0	0	0	0	.242
T. Frazier3B	2	0	1	0	1	.293
A. RosarioSS	3	0	1	0	0	.244
J. LobatonC	1	0	0	0	1	.200

The one notable young guy in the roster that I thought the Mets would have to give up is Amed Rosario. He could have fit right in with Seattle's infield. On top of this, the Mets didn't have to give up Domminc Smith, Peter Alonso or Andres Gimenez their two top prospects. 

I would have thought those players would have been included in a package with Noah Syndergaard. 

That being said, Robinson Cano's contract might turn out to be a cancer and if playoffs don't happen in 2019 or 2020 for the Mets than this trade will blow up in their face as they will be too old to compete by 2021. 

For the Mariners. Boosting their farm system is a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately for them, they have had great prospects in the system before when they had Dustin Ackley, Nick Franklin, Mike Zunino and Kyle Seager that went along with a future pitching staff of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen years ago. 

The Mets will win this trade if they make the playoffs in the next two year and the Mariners will win the trade if they next make the playoffs if one of these players is on their team when they do. 

This trade could be a win - win or it could be a lose - lose with anything in between.