Could a Miller/Gardner/Prospects Package Land a Mets Ace?

This was something that was brought up in our comments section that got the wheels in my head turning so a hat tip to our commenter that goes by the name of “Spade.” Spade asked the question “Would you trade Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller in a package for one of the New York Mets aces?” Truth be told I think it would take more than just Miller and Gardner to land one of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, although it may be a bit of an overpay for Steve Matz and/or Zach Wheeler, so I thought about maybe adding a prospect or two to sweeten the deal, do you make the deal?

Whether we would make the deal I guess is a moot point, it’s whether the Mets would make the deal. In a perfect world and on paper you have to think the Mets would be interested in the trade. Their bullpen was shaky at best in 2015 with Juerys Familia blowing multiple postseason saves and Tyler Clippard being more “wild” that “effectively wild” for much of the second half. Clippard is now hitting free agency alongside Daniel Murphy, Yoenis Cespedes and others leaving a set of huge holes for New York at the back end of the bullpen, in the outfield and at first base. Those holes could be filled by the Yankees with the Mets trading from a position of power, young and controllable starting pitching.

Miller would give the Mets an immediate 9^th inning presence while Gardner could slot into center field to replace Cespedes or anywhere else in the Citi Field outfield. Adding a potential first base option like Tyler Austin and another lower level prospect that many haven’t heard of but has upside could sweeten the pot for the Mets. I still can’t see the team pulling the trigger, that’s a long commitment with a lot of money heading to the budget-stricken Mets, but the deal makes sense for both sides.

The Yankees get another young fire ball starting pitcher to add to Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda while the Mets full multiple holes in one move. Don’t start penciling one of the Mets multiple aces in just yet, although the offseason is the time to dream for fans of the team.