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The New York Mets have an eye on the upcoming MLB trade deadline, and they are considering making a move for one longtime slugger.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the Mets have Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz “on their radar” for a trade.
Heyman noted that the Mets’ biggest need come Aug. 2 is a hitter, and while Nationals first baseman Josh Bell has been linked with a move away from Washington as of late, such an acquisition would cost the Mets a “big prospect.” Thus, Heyman added that Cruz would then “make sense for them.”
Overall, the Mets head into this season’s trade deadline with a conservative mindset. They are “reluctant” to give up any of their top prospects and also have no interest in shipping off any such talents in exchange for any player who is set to hit free agency later this year, such as Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, who has been in the trade rumor mill with the current NL East leaders as of late.
More so, USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale recently noted that the Mets’ trade deadline approach will also center on being open to taking in large contracts rather than opting to ship off any of their coveted prospects.
For Cruz, he is currently in his first season with the Nationals. After MLB implemented a universal designated hitter rule following the lockout, Cruz was linked with multiple National League teams. While he was in the rumor mill with teams such as the San Diego Padres, he decided to instead join the Nationals on a mere one-year deal.
Cruz has not seen the field at all in the 2022 campaign so far, as he has featured as a designated hitter in all of his 76 total games played. The seven-time All-Star currently ranks in the top three in numerous hitting stats on the team, including in OBP (.322) and home runs (eight).
With the roller-coaster seasons from the likes of Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis this year, much attention sure will be on whether Mets general manager Billy Eppler will elect to soon acquire a talent like Cruz in order to bolster the lineup ahead of the stretch run of the campaign.