The New York Mets could be forgiven if they decided they’d done enough big game hunting this winter. However, there’s every chance they could keep swinging for the fences.
Though there have been a number of big moves at the Winter Meetings this week, nothing holds a candle to the Mets signing superstar outfielder Juan Soto for a 15-year, $765 million megadeal. Soto makes the Mets instant World Series contenders, but they still might not yet be the favorites.
However, if they could land another Dominican-born superstar to join Soto in the lineup, the Mets might just become the new number-one team in the consensus preseason power rankings, even over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is entering his final year of team control for the Toronto Blue Jays, who just finished last in the American League East. And the Mets just so happen to have a vacancy at first base, thanks to Pete Alonso’s free agency.
On Wednesday, Cody Williams of FanSided speculated that the Mets would be a good trade fit for Guerrero, who has been rumored to be a dark-horse trade candidate after Toronto missed out on the Soto sweepstakes.
“What makes this even more realistic beyond Cohen’s ability to give Guerrero a lucrative extension if they were to pull off this trade is that the Mets are also among the better farm systems in baseball right now,” Williams said.
“They would have the opportunity to entice the Blue Jays with the likes of Luisangel Acuña and more to help Toronto build up their future in a much better spot while also setting up their own future.”
Shi Davidi of Sportsnet speculated Tuesday that Guerrero’s next contract would top $500 million, citing a poll of several executives and agents. Though Toronto is likely to offer Guerrero the moon, they still have yet to convince him to stay by putting a winning team around him.
If the Mets could somehow pull off a deal for Guerrero, they’d be rolling out a dream lineup on a nightly basis. It might not be likely to happen, but with the craziness of this offseason so far, it definitely can’t be rules out.
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