Cincinnati Reds: Potential Trade Partners for Brandon Phillips
By Jason Reed
New York Mets
The Mets have always seemed to make second base a priority for their ball club. Daniel Murphy called New York home for seven years, and after his departure Neil Walker took the reigns at second base. The problem for the Mets is that Neil Walker is a free agent this off-season. With Yoenis Cespedes already declining his option, the Mets must have a back up plan for everything. A good back up plan for Neil Walker leaving would be Brandon Phillips.
A trade for Brandon Phillips would be very similar to the Mets trade for Walker last off-season. Walker obviously only had one year left in his contract, and if a new contract isn’t agreed upon the Mets could get yet another rental second baseman. The trade between the two teams could also mimick the Pirates-Mets deal, or go a new path as well.
To get Neil Walker, the Mets traded young left-hander Jon Niese to the Pirates. Niese didn’t work out well for Pittsburg, eventually rejoining the Mets in a trade for Antonio Bastardo. Unfortunately for the Mets, Niese is now a free agent so they can’t trade him a second time for a second baseman. Another young arm, Zach Wheeler, could end up being sent to Cincinnati for Phillips. However, the Mets lack utility players to give Cincinnati, and they likely wouldn’t want to trade away another arm after the surplus of injuries in 2016. So despite Phillips being a great fit in New York, the pieces may not be available to move him, and it would all come down to the Reds asking price.