After surrendering a big part of the future last offseason, the New York Mets weren’t willing to give up a lot for Starling Marte.
Following months of speculation, any possibility of the New York Mets acquiring Starling Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates vanished after the All-Star outfielder was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Based on initial reports, it appeared that the Pirates attempted to pry at least two of the Mets’ top five prospects in exchange for Marte.
However, there’s now a report that the Pirates were seeking to acquire a package involving J.D. Davis or Brandon Nimmo, as well.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, Brodie Van Wagenen wasn’t willing to surrender any package that included Davis, Nimmo or two of their top five prospects.
“There was a package offered to them that was centered around J.D. Davis, the Mets said no,” Martino said. “I don’t believe that’s been reported. There was another package centered around Brandon Nimmo, which we knew, but the Mets said ‘no, we’re not willing to trade Nimmo for Marte.’ And then there was another ask which was like two top prospects — say two out of the top five top prospects in the system. And that was a no.”
In addition, Martino also revealed when talks between the Mets and Pirates became serious during this winter.
But, he also adds that those discussions halted once Van Wagenen discovered the high asking price for Marte.
“They had an opportunity, they were in serious talks with the Pirates around the new year, and they just weren’t willing to do any of those things.”
With Marte entering his age-31 season, it seems that the Mets have made the right decision this winter.
Despite the attraction of adding another power hitter to New York’s lineup, they would also be acquiring someone who produced a -9 DRS (tied for league-worst) among all center fielders with at least 800 innings played in 2019.
The righty is also slated to earn $11.5 million in 2020 and $12.5 million in 2021.
So, it appears that the price for Marte was far too extreme for the Mets to complete. Based on these reports, Mets’ fans shouldn’t be too upset at Van Wagenen for passing on the chance to bring Marte to Queens.
