The New York Mets refuse to give up on a potential Starling Marte deal that might include outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network has added another chapter to the ongoing New York Mets-Starling Marte saga.
No evidence anything is close but at some point Mets and Pirates exchanged names on proposed Starling Marte trade. Brandon Nimmo’s name came up but Pirates may prefer prospects. Other teams known to have checked on Marte: Padres, D-Backs, Rangers, others.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 27, 2019
This news isn’t new. It had been reported at the Winter Meetings that the Mets and Pirates were talking about a Marte deal centered around Brandon Nimmo. Nevertheless, this report is interesting for a multitude of reasons. For one, it shows that the Mets are still engaged with the Pirates.
That’s major news considering it contradicts Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal reported a week ago that the Mets had little interest in completing a Marte deal.
It’s also interesting that Heyman reports the Pirates may prefer prospects to Nimmo. The 26-year-old outfielder is under contract through 2022. That makes him five years younger and under team control for longer than Marte. Nimmo has also been worth more fWAR per game than Marte in each of the past three seasons.
Nimmo is simply a better player than Marte by any measurable other than batting average, a stat that is beginning to be disregarded by most teams and members of the media.
If the Pirates are looking for prospects, it seems very unlikely that a deal will happen. The Mets farm system ranks as one of the worst in baseball.
It’s very unlikely that the Mets would be willing to deal from the top of their very weak farm system. Prospects like Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty, Andres Gimenez, Matt Allan, and Francisco Alvarez are all likely off-limits.
That leaves very little that would interest the Pirates in a potential Marte deal. It’s hard to see how the two sides can reach a deal before next season.
