Could Washington Nationals Trade for Mets Player 'Most Likely' to Be Dealt?
Things have been pretty quiet for the Washington Nationals early on this offseason.
There was a lot of speculation the front office could be looking to spend with money coming off the books and ownership seemingly giving them the green light to pursue some high-profile free agents, however, there is also a chance they'd rather give their young players another year of experience before handing out expensive contracts.
It's still unknown what direction the Nationals will take, but things around the league are starting to heat up a bit.
With players starting to be put on the trade block and the stars in free agency beginning to meet with teams, Washington should have an opportunity to upgrade their roster ahead of the upcoming season, whether that's on the fringes or an aggressive overhaul.
Someone who could be moved that might interest the Nationals is Brett Baty.
The former top prospect has been named by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report as the New York Mets player who is "most likely" to get dealt this winter.
"Mark Vientos has cemented himself as the starting third baseman for the Mets. The only way that will change is if Pete Alonso departs in free agency and Vientos shifts to first base, a move that would likely mean an established third baseman is joining the Mets. It's hard to imagine Baty getting runway to be a starter for the Mets next year," he writes.
If that's the case, he should be of interest to Washington.
While the Nationals did acquire Jose Tena in the deal that sent Lance Thomas out of town ahead of the trade deadline, and he's looked promising in his 62 Major League games so far, he's far from a lock to be their long-term starter.
Baty hasn't lived up to the billing by any means with his .215/.282/.325 slash line and OPS+ that's 30 points below league average across his 169 games, but he still has time to figure things out.
Washington could be a place where he gets more reps and ultimately flourishes.
But would the Mets actually be willing to trade him despite there not being a clear path to playing time following the breakout of Mark Vientos?
According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, there was interest in the 25-year-old over the summer by the Miami Marlins, but New York decided not to ship him out of town.
At that time, though, Vientos hadn't quite put everything together, so there were still questions about who would be their third baseman of the future, but after his performance down the stretch and during the playoffs, that debate is all but over.
Perhaps the Mets also didn't want to trade Baty in division, something that could prevent the Nationals from landing him if they are interested.
But at the very least, Washington should give them a call to see what it would take to land him with their third base situation still not figured out.
