LAS VEGAS — Brodie Van Wagenen’s pursuit of J.T. Realmuto has featured some unorthodox thinking, even involving the Mets’ crosstown rival.
An industry source confirmed Monday that the Mets, Yankees and Marlins have discussed a three-way trade that would bring Realmuto to Queens and send Noah Syndergaard to The Bronx, but there are major hurdles that make such a deal unlikely, high among them Van Wagenen’s desire to pursue other avenues in obtaining the All-Star catcher. Other hurdles include the Marlins’ reluctance to deal Realmuto within the NL East and tensions between Miami’s and the Yankees’ front offices.
Any such deal involving Syndergaard would almost certainly have to bring the Mets another starting player in addition to Realmuto. Last week, Van Wagenen indicated it would take an extremely special offer for the Mets to consider dealing Syndergaard, who is under club control for the next three seasons. The Padres, Rockies and Brewers are among the teams that have shown interest in Syndergaard this offseason, but nobody has come close to overwhelming the Mets with an offer.
On Monday at the winter meetings, Van Wagenen indicated it’s unlikely he would include Amed Rosario in a trade for Realmuto. The Marlins, according to sources, have sought Rosario — who is under club control for another five seasons — as the centerpiece of a straight-up deal with the Mets.“The way I look at any trade is we want the trade to make us better — we don’t want to create a hole that we didn’t have by filling a hole that we did have,” Van Wagenen said. “We want to make sure that if we do make moves that we’re adding to our strengths and filling the gaps where we needed help, but we’re not going to create a hole by filling another.”
Van Wagenen indicated he’s looking to trade for a catcher, and that could go beyond trying to acquire Realmuto.
“I think a number of teams are at least exploring their catchers, you see some catchers having been traded so far and I think there are a number that are at least available for discussion,” Van Wagenen said. “We’ll take a look at those, and we’ve had a lot of discussions with teams, and we definitely have had a lot of discussions with agents, as well, and not just limited to catchers.”
Trade possibilities might include Francisco Cervelli, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Pirates and earning $10.5 million for 2019. The 32-year-old Cervelli remains highly regarded defensively and posted a very respectable .809 OPS last season.
The Red Sox have also indicated they could be open to trading from a catching crop that includes Sandy Leon, Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez.
On the free-agent front, Wilson Ramos hardly fits the ideal profile for what the Mets seek in a catcher, but team officials haven’t completely ruled out the veteran backstop.
To that end, Ramos met with Van Wagenen on Monday, according to sources.
The 31-year-old Ramos is among the game’s best catchers offensively, but the Mets are placing a premium on defense at the position. Ramos’ health history — he missed significant action in 2017 and ’18 — is also a concern, according to sources.
Yasmani Grandal is regarded as the top available free-agent catcher. The Mets also have interest in Martin Maldonado based on his defense. But Maldonado’s anemic bat could be problematic to a lineup in need of improvement.
— additional reporting by Joel Sherman