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New York Mets: Trading Jarred Kelenic was too steep of a price to pay for Cano and Diaz

By Mike Esposito

New York Mets. Jeff Wilpon (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
New York Mets. Jeff Wilpon (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
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The New York Mets pulled off a major coup by trading for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, but adding prospect Jarred Kelenic to the deal was too steep of a price to pay

Well, it finally happened. The New York Mets actually proved to their fanbase that they’re completely serious about fielding a winning ball club in 2019 and they couldn’t have done it in a more dramatic way.

The Mets pulled off the biggest blockbuster of the MLB offseason so far, trading Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn (No. 89 MLB Pipeline prospect) and Jarred Kelenic (No. 62 MLB Pipeline prospect) to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for second baseman Robinson Cano, $20 million in salary relief and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz.

Diaz is clearly the centerpiece of this deal and who could blame the Mets for doing whatever they can to acquire him? Coming off a 57-save season, the 24-year-old flamethrower is arguably baseball’s best closer and he’ll be under team control until 2022.

Getting Cano in the deal as well, while risky (36-years-old, coming off an 80-game PED suspension), fills a hole at second base with a productive veteran presence.

And in return? The Mets are unloading two terrible contracts for salary relief (Bruce and Swarzak), a fire-baller with command issues (Bautista) a projected back-of-the-rotation/relief pitcher (Dunn) and a low-minors outfield prospect (Kelenic).

Pulling this deal off was a major coup for new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and confirms that the organization is serious about its desire to win now. However, did the Mets give up too much to make the deal happen? The price seems right at first glance, but the inclusion of Kelenic might as well put the Mets on the raw end of the deal.

Before you even ask, the answer is yes. I’m telling you the Mets screwed the pooch by using a 19-year-old kid from Wisconsin, who barely has any professional experience and is at least three years away from the Bigs, as one of their trade chips.

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Drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Mets, Kelenic was considered one of the best pure hitters in the draft class with an advanced bat for his age and a good feel for the strike zone.

That’s some pretty high praise for a high schooler, and that evaluation couldn’t have rang truer in his first professional season.

To say that Kelenic had little trouble adjusting to professional baseball would be an understatement.

The first-rounder dominated opposing pitchers in his stint with GCL Mets, recording an incredible .413/.451/.609 (average/on-base/slugging) slashline across 51 plate appearances.

After just two weeks in the Gulf Coast League, the organization promoted him to the Kingsport Mets, where he actually struggled for the first time in his professional career.

However, Kelenic adjusted rather quickly and really turned things around in the final month of the Appalachian League season, hitting an impressive .321/.368/.509 in a league in which he’s two years younger than the average player.

By the end of the year, the kid from Wisconsin went from being an unranked prospect to baseball’s No. 62 prospect after just two months of minor league ball. Based on his meteoric rise and incredible physical gifts, many scouts (and this writer, obviously) believe the Kelenic is a superstar in the making and on the fast track to the Majors.

Based on that  alone, Kelenic, who is an outfielder by trade, could be Major League ready when Yoenis Cespedes’ contract comes off the books and figures to seamlessly replace the much-maligned slugger.

Yes, it’s all about winning now in the Big Apple, but the Mets had one other prospect that would have been a more appropriate trade piece: Peter Alonso.

It’s not a popular opinion based on New York’s need at first base, but Seattle’s in the market for a new designated hitter now that Nelson Cruz is a free agent and Alonso would fill that role perfectly thanks to his light-tower power.

Trading for Cano and Diaz is the type of win-now move you’d expect from a team with World Series aspirations, but Kelenic shouldn’t have been included in the deal, plain and simple.

Next. Three Reasons Cano is a Bad Idea. dark

You could even make an argument that the deal was completely unnecessary considering when you look at how saturated with second basemen and relievers the free agent market is. However, what’s done is done. Let’s just hope that the Mets don’t have buyer’s remorse in a few seasons.

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