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St. Louis Cardinals Hot Stove: Five trade candidates at first base
By Chris Gigley
Potential Trade Partner #5: New York Mets
Next season is not going to be a great time for the New York Mets. They are no longer a Cinderella story and will be playing an entire season under immense and unrealistic expectations of their fan base. Meanwhile, they have to deal with the baseball mortality of franchise face David Wright.
Earlier this week, Mark Simon of ESPN made a case for Wright switching to first base at least part of the time. Chronic back problems have sapped his throwing arm of all its strength. He simply can’t hack a full season at third base anymore.
Could such a devleopment make Lucas Duda available? Duda is a defensive liability, but he’s got pop in his bat. The Mets need bullpen help, plain and simple. Their outfield is set. So if the Cardinals are going to pry Duda loose, relief pitching will be the cost. It’s hard to say what kind of value would make this work. There is an intangible here given that Duda is almost as beloved by the Mets faithful as Duda is.
But stranger things have happened. Stranger things probably will happen. As free agents begin signing with different teams, the complexion of the trade market could change completely. I mean, really, the St. Louis Cardinals could swoop in and sign Chris Davis, making this whole column moot.
But we know better than that … Don’t we?