*Photo from Bleacher Report*
The New York Mets were in the rumors for making big moves now that Steve Cohen owns the team. Here's the first major blockbuster by the Mets, and the biggest move by any baseball team other than the San Diego Padres. The Mets have traded for SS Francisco Lindor and RHP Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for SS Amed Rosario, SS Andres Gimenez, OF Isaiah Greene, and RHP Josh Wolf. Both teams have confirmed the trade.
Lindor had another good season for the Indians in 2020, hitting .258 with 8 homers and 27 RBI, playing in all 60 regular season games. In Lindor's 6 major league seasons, he has a .285 average with 138 homers and 411 RBI in 777 games played, all with the Indians. Of course, this doesn't cover Lindor's excellent defense at shortstop as well, as he has two gold gloves and the 2016 AL Platinum glove award to his name, as well as 4 all star game selections.
Mets president of baseball operations Sandy Alderson said in a zoom interview that "We acquired Francisco because of his present ability and the possibility that he could be a Met long term. There's no guarantee of that. It's something we will approach in the next few weeks. At this point, we felt comfortable giving up the group of players we did for both Lindor and Carrasco. We gave up a lot of control for short-term control, but I think we're comfortable with that and what we might be able to do going forward."
Carrasco, also going to the Mets, posted a 3-4 record with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 82 hitters in 68 innings pitched across 12 starts for the Indians in 2020. Carrasco, who is also a cancer survivor, has a career 88-73 record with a 3.77 ERA, throwing 1,242 1/3 innings across 242 appearances, 195 of which being starts, in his 11 major league seasons.
Alderson discussed the talks with the Indians about Lindor, saying that "This deal has been in the works for a long time. We've been talking since way before the break and really since close to the beginning of the offseason. It came to a head here in the last couple of days."
Rosario, once ranked the top prospect in the Mets farm system, posted a .252 average with 4 homers and 15 RBI across 46 games played in 2020. In his 4 major league seasons, all with the Mets, Rosario has a career .268 average with 32 homers and 148 RBI in 403 games played for the Mets. This is Rosario's first season of arbitration eligibility.
Gimenez, ranked as the 3rd overall prospect in the Mets system, made his major league debut in 2020, called up just after opening day. Gimenez posted a .263 average with 3 homers and 12 RBI, posting a .732 OPS in 49 games for the Mets in his rookie season. Gimenez also stole 8 bases in 2020, good for 10th in the National League.
Rosario and Gimenez can fit right into the Indians roster in 2021, likely spending the majority of the time in the middle of the infield, with Rosario at short and Gimenez likely at second, but he can also play shortstop and 3rd base whenever Rosario or Jose Ramirez may need a day off. Wolf and Greene were ranked at 9th and 10th overall in the Mets system, but likely won't be called up until the end of the 2022 season at the earliest.
Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said of having to part with Lindor and Carrasco that "These are people we care about, not just players, and guys that loved the organization and have great memories here. Trades like this are really tough. But it's the right thing to do." Antonetti talked about this while in tears, as Lindor and Carrasco have been mainstays in Cleveland, and were some of the faces of their run to the 2016 World Series.
The Mets have boosted their team with some notable moves this offseason. Besides this trade for Lindor and Carrasco, they have also signed RHP Trevor May for bullpen support and C James McCann to be their top catcher.
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