Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis was almost traded to the New York Mets, as he explains, but the deal was killed over financial issues.
Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis was almost traded to the New York Mets.
According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Indians were close to finalizing a deal that would send Kipnis to New York. There were people on both sides who thought that they had a deal. However, the deal was killed by someone at the top, most likely over money.
According to Ben Axelrod of WKYC, Kipnis is guaranteed $30.5 million over the next two years. The Mets apparently don’t want to spend another $30-plus million since they recently signed outfielder Jay Bruce to a three-year, $39 million contract, so the deal for Kipnis was killed.
“I guess they really thought the trade went through,” Kipnis told Axelrod. “Guys get traded all the time. They know I love playing here and I want to stay here, but I understand the business side of it. Stuff like that is usually out of the players’ control and our job is to only take care of what we can take care of. I’m excited to kind of have a bounce-back year.”
Last year Kipnis had one of his worst years as he hit .232 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs in 90 games. He also lost his job at second base while moving to center field in the Division Series against the New York Yankees. However, the Indians have said that Kipnis will return to second base this year if he’s not traded first, according to Anthony Rieber of Newsday.
Who will be the Mets second baseman now that Kipnis is out of the picture? Free agents Jose Reyes and Neil Walker are options along with Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores. Todd Frazier could also be an option if he doesn’t re-sign with the Yankees.
