According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Miami Marlins “tried a couple of times” to acquire New York Mets highly regarded prospect, Brett Baty. According to the article, Miami attempted to get Baty before and after the Carlos Correa deal fell through with New York.
What did the Miami Marlins have to offer for New York Mets top third base prospect?
Heyman states that the Marlins were willing to offer either one of their young controllable pitchers in Edward Cabrera, Pablo Lopez, or Jesus Luzardo in their attempt to land Baty. Miami has been vocal about letting other teams know that their young pitching is available via trade, as they are actively trying to compete in the top heavy NL East by trying to bolster their lineup.
Were the Mets smart for not agreeing to trade away Brett Baty?
Yes, New York was very bright in their reluctance to trade away one of their top prospects. As soon as Steve Cohen took majority ownership of the Mets, the hedgefund billionaire has been vocal about the desire to build “sustained success.” In accomplishing this goal, New York knows that they need to keep their young prospects around while also improving on their team by stirring up the free agent market. The Mets have been very consistent with this position as they have committed well over $300 million this off-season to key pieces such as retaining Brandon Nimmo, signing Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, and other players at the upper end of the free agent market over the past two seasons.
The New York Mets want to compete for a championship year in and year out. To do so, they have to keep young prospects around, and go after the big fish in the free agent market. The Amazin’s have done just that and are continuing to do so by declining to move Brett Baty to Miami.