Before you freak out in the comments section, hear this out. No, Todd Frazier has not been mentioned in trade talks. No, the Cincinnati Reds have not made it clear they'll be selling at the deadline. But if the club hopes to rebuild, Frazier would provide them the assets they need to expedite the process.
And no, the Mets are not considering such a deal. In fact, rumors found they were talking to the Milwaukee Brewers about a deal for third baseman Aramis Ramirez, but ended up determining they don't see a fit for him right now because they expect David Wright to be back at some point.
However, there's still no clear timetable for Wright and if the Mets want to stay atop the NL East they'll need to explore third base options on the trade market. General manager Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that the All-Star break is a "realistic possibility" for Wright's return, but they're still waiting for him to be medically cleared at the end of the month.
Alderson said he's not predicting that at all, but he believes it's realistic.
While that provides nothing of substance for the Mets' long-term situation at third base, the Cincinnati Reds are 14 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central and seven games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot. General manager Walt Jocketty is going to have some tough decisions to make at the trade deadline if the Reds can't catch up in the playoff race.
"It's one thing to have players available to trade, but if and when Cincinnati decides to do a makeover, it actually has some outstanding high-impact assets to trade, and with some deft moves, the Reds could completely reload because of the quality of its marketable players," writes ESPN Insider Buster Olney.
"Assuming the Reds carry on as they've been carrying on, the choice of whether to sell or not to sell really won't be a choice at all," Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report added. "They'd be fools not to sell. Because if the Reds' present is a lost cause, then right now their future is an even bigger lost cause."
Could one of those trades involve star third baseman Todd Frazier?
"I don't think the Reds would consider trading Todd Frazier, but maybe Cincinnati should treat him the way Oakland viewed Josh Donaldson after last season: If somebody is willing to offer exactly what the Reds want for Frazier, they should consider it," Olney continued.
"The Mets, for example, should call the Reds and ask: What it would take to get Frazier? Because he would be an unbelievably great fit for New York, given the uncertainty around David Wright and given Frazier's athleticism, power, positional flexibility and local roots."
New York had a decent situation with Daniel Murphy shifting over to third after Wright got injured, but Murphy hit the DL after suffering a quad strain and Eric Campbell isn't exactly going to be the best option as the season progresses. That trio of third basemen has contributed 25 runs scored, 3 home runs and 26 RBIs in 65 games this season compared to Frazier's 44 runs scored, 18 home runs and 39 RBIs in 62 games.
"So if the Reds put Frazier on the market, there would probably be more interest in him than there would be even in Cueto and his ace-like arm. That would go double if he's put on a Tulo-less market, as only the Reds could offer a truly elite power hitter," Rymer added.
"What would make Frazier even more attractive is the fact that, unlike Cueto and Leake, he's no rental. He's not due for free agency until after 2017, so dealing for him would mean getting the rest of his age-29 season, and then his age-30 and age-31 seasons as well."
Would the Mets be interested in surrendering some of their top prospects for Frazier? Probably not, but it's still unclear what their thought process is. At this point, it's pretty evident they'll need to make some sort of move before the trade deadline because their offense ranks 21st in the MLB with 251 runs scored and their .684 OPS ranks 23rd.
Their starting rotation is among the best in the league, but as we saw last season with the juggernaut Washington Nationals, pitching can only get you so far in the postseason. At the end of the day there needs to be a balance and the Mets are going to need to average more than 3.86 runs per game to keep their postseason hopes alive.
The Frazier scenario is by no means on the table, but the idea is interesting to consider especially if the Mets receive bad news regarding Wright's health at the end of the month. If that's the case, look for them to make a trade and do not rule out a potential deal for Frazier.
