If the thought of the Mets (finally) discussing a trade of 3B David Wright (above) just days after they’ve officially begun work on modifying Citi Field’s cavernous configuration seems a tad contradictory, well, perhaps they’re equally worried about Lucas Duda’s power numbers. Or maybe ownership and Sandy Alderson have concluded if the Mets can finish 20 games out of first place with Wright and Jose Reyes on the roster, why not shoot for the lofty heights of 4th place with a far cheaper payroll? From the NY Post’s Joel Sherman :
“We will listen on Wright for sure,” a Mets official told me during the week. “We know we are not going to win it all in 2012. We have to hope the Phillies get old and we are in position to take advantage of that in 2013-14, and we have to figure out ways to speed the process to get there.”
The team the Mets are focusing upon the most is the Angels, who they know have had interest in Wright previously and, in Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos, have two young center fielders. The Angels will not move Trout, who made his major league debut at 19 last year and is seen as a five-tool cornerstone to their future.
But Bourjos is a possibility. Two different talent evaluators told me they thought Bourjos was one of the three best defensive center fielders in the majors last year. Bourjos, who turns 25 in March, also hit .271 with 12 homers and 22 steals. If the Mets are able to get Bourjos and one or two arms from a group that includes Tyler Chatwood, Garrett Richards and John Hellweg, it could be enticing because there also would be a significant amount of saved money for 2012 — take your pick if that ends up in ownerships’ pockets or reinvested in payroll.