The New York Mets enter this holiday weekend’s action in first place with a 41-36 record. Josh Donaldson is starring for the struggling Minnesota Twins at about the halfway point in the season.
It stands to reason that the big-market Mets would be linked to someone of Donaldson’s ilk should Minnesota go into full-scale fire-sale mode.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, that could very well be the case.
“The team has engaged in very preliminary talks with the Minnesota Twins, who might trade Josh Donaldson. Those conversations have not yet progressed, but Donaldson is a possibility for the Mets,” Martino reported.
One of the few bright spots for the 33-46 Twins, the 35-year-old Josh Donaldson is hitting .250 with 13 homers and 34 RBI while boasting an .831 OPS in 63 games this season. The former American League MVP is currently playing under a four-year, $92 million contract, which complicates things for the Mets.
Is Josh Donaldson to the New York Mets in the cards?
As Martino noted in his report, the Mets’ brass would love to stay under the $210 million luxury tax figure. Right now, they are an estimated $10 million under said figure. This is a clear indication that acquiring Donaldson would likely only be done under the idea of the Twins picking up some of his contract and/or salaries heading to Minnesota in the deal.
Right now, Jonathan Villar leads all Mets third baseman. He’s hitting .246 with six homers and eight steals in 61 games. J.D. Davis, Luis Guillorme and Brandon Drury have also seen time at the hot corner. Needless to say, Josh Donaldson would be seen as an upgrade here.
After some initial struggles this season, the Mets have picked it up in the ultra-competitive National League East. They are 30-23 in their past 53 games after starting the campaign 11-13.
A lot of that has to do with a rotation headed by NL Cy Young favorite Jacob deGrom, who has posted an otherworldly 0.95 ERA and 0.54 WHIP while striking out 136 batters in 85 innings over 14 starts. Adding Donaldson to the mix would help this team moving forward. That’s for sure.