The Yankees have reached out to their New York City rivals to express interest in first baseman Lucas Duda and reliever Addison Reed, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). We’ve heard plenty of chatter about this possible connect, particularly with regards to Duda, it’s notable that the sides are now in conversation.
Both Mets veterans are pending free agents who figure to be available at the trade deadline this summer. With the Yankees still firmly in the postseason hunt in the American League, and the Mets all but buried in the N.L., it’s easy to see the reason for the contact. Still, it’s always notable when these two clubs look to line up, given how rarely they do business with one another.
Duda seems an entirely sensible rental piece for the Yanks, who are also looking at other alternatives to address the team’s needs at first base. He remains an underappreciated offensive force; setting aside his injury-shortened 2016 season, Duda has consistently been over thirty percent better than the league-average hitter (by measure of wRC+) since the start of 2014.
And though Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances represent a fearsome late-inning duo, Reed would upgrade any bullpen. He’s likely to draw much wider interest than Duda, who is limited to playing first base (or functioning as a DH). Reed, 28, owns a 2.04 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 since coming to New York late in 2015 as a reclamation project.
It seems all but inevitable that the Mets will be looking to move both players, who are earning reasonable but hardly bargaining salaries ($7.25MM for Duda, $7.75MM for Reed). The Mets may well put an emphasis on adding pieces that can contribute to the team in the relatively near future, given the organization’s stated inclination to attempt to rebound right back into contention next year. With several holes opening around the roster, GM Sandy Alderson could see merit in that approach, or he could seek to build up the team’s prospect war chest by pursuing higher-upside younger talent.
tenman85
Not a surprise. Yankees supposedly had scouts at the game yesterday. I’d be surprised if this actually happened though.
acarneglia
I’d prefer Duda and Reed over Alonso
darkstar61
Hard to imagine anyone feeling otherwise.
Cost might be much tougher to swallow, but its just that amazing 1 month for Alonso and otherwise he’s pretty meh.
pro4pro32goathletics
Nahh that’s not good for the A’s, it is actually Oakland that probably is more motivated to give him to the team that needs a 1B the most. Hopefully the A’s will still be able to get a deal done for a prospect like Acevedo.
tenman85
Yankees probably leaked this to help with their negotiations with Oakland. There’re about the only team needing a rental at 1st base.
billysbballz
lol, Acevedo for Alonso for 2 months. I rather see Sonny Gray for Acevedo, hahahahahah.
thegreatcerealfamine
The BS force is strong with these “A’s fans”.
pro4pro32goathletics
1. It is only a hope
2. Yonder Alonso is an 2017 all star and a big improvement for the Yankees, who are in contention
3. Prospects these days in my opinion are overvalued, Acevedo might not make it at all or be DFA’d after having no success in the majors.
thebare
Cashman will find away to cheat somebody for there players. Maybe just the Cubs. Maybe I just don’t like him still a Gilbert Torres fan
morgannyy 2
“Glyber”?
billysbballz
Not much of a baseball fan are you Gilbert Grape?
JayJayXV
But would laugh at any Mets proposal
baseball10
Whats with all these same town teams trying to trade with each other? It doesn’t feel right
thebare
It good for there CITY’s
cmancoley
Why does it matter. You do have he best for your team. Period
cmancoley
do the**
crazysull
I think that if the A’s didn’t trade Doolittle and Maddson to the Nats I could have seen the Yankees trying to trade for one of them along with Gray and Alonso, but it would also require them to trade a lot away
SimplyAmazin91
Who would the Yanks be willing to give up for those two @ least one 10-20 prospect
willi
No, they have plenty od options that are cheaper and Just has productive ! ( i.e. Phillies Tommy Joseph )
thunder12k
I think 3 top 20 guys although none would be in the top 5-7 guys. Reed himself would cost at least a backend top 100 prospect, like a healthy Dustin Fowler. Duda should return less but somewhat close. Could be anything from Miguel Andujar to a pair of top 10-25 guys in their system. The Yankees have a lot of very interesting prospects who should intrigue the Mets. I’m sure a deal could be made between the two.
billysbballz
Yanks-A’s trade is as follows:
Florial, Thairo Estrada, Domingo Acevedo, Bryan Mitchel or Ian Clarkin, Choi for Sonny Grey and Alonso. Thats a good deal for both teams. Yanks give up 2 legit top 10 prospect and their 2nd best positional prospect behind Rutherford and ahead of Mateo along with 2 top 20’s.
We throw in Hicks and Headley plus cash for Lowry.
Get it done.
Thats a fair trade across the board and none of this silly nonsense posted Acevedo for Alonso which is not happening.
thunder12k
Can’t wait to see your reaction when Acevedo is traded for Duda. Doesn’t matter if it’s 2 months of a player you are trading for, there is still a cost involved and that’s the nature of buying at the trade deadline.
You want Reed? Be prepared to trade Fowler or Andujar plus someone else.
bronxbombers
People often say trade top 10-15 org prospect for so and so. What people do not realize is Yankees 10-15 may be the 5-10 of many other teams.
Remms12
mets fans are a joke
YankeeMan3099
Yankees won’t get Duda like someone else said on here the Yanks probably leaked this on purpose to put pressure on Oakland. Remember the Yanks have the slight edge in negotiations with other first base options out there.
Jt0712
Or Clint Frazier.
YankeeMan3099
Lol nice one the Yankees aren’t trading Frazier for anyone especially for rentals like Duda and Reed.
max l
It’s highly unlikely, but if a team really wants Frazier and has payroll to take on Ellsbury’s contract, I could see the Yanks dumping Frazier to wash their hands of the Ells contract. It’s not apples to apples but look at the NBA trade with the Nets & Lakers: The Nets wanted Russell, and had the cap space to take on the Mozgov contract, so the Lakers were willingly to sacrifice Russell to get rid of the Mozgov contract.
Not sure what the payroll structure for Oakland is, but they could use major league ready center fielders. If they have the payroll space to take on Ellsbury’s contract would the Yankees trade Ellsbury & Frazier for Gray & Alonzo (and others mixed in)?? I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.
rocky7
No way they subtract the positive of Frazier just to get rid of Ellsbury’s contract…..did you see last nights Twins game….Frazier hit tow balls that probably would have been singles that he made into doubles.
And for Gray and Alonzo….Gray has great upside but has injury questions, and Alonzo is a rental…why would they do this.
Ellsbury can be a very serviceable 4 th outfielder in the later part of his contract, while being part of the outfield rotation for the balance of this year…..next year is next year and who knows
And if anything is possible there are always trade possibilities….Cash just has to look harder.
cky7
It’s an interesting idea, but Ells has a no trade clause, He won’t leave NYY, a team that is probably one starting pitcher away from the playoffs to join Oakland, a team that is completely rebuilding.
Houston We Have A Solution
A’s get Rutherford, Florial, and 2 of Clarkin, Littell, Perez, Guzman, Tate, Widener.
Yankees get Gray and Alonso.
Most likely itll be Rutherford, Florial, Clarkin, and Perez and maybe a 5th piece like Austin.
A’s get the OF pieces they need in Rutherford (#36) and Florial (#71) on BAs mid season ranking plus some pitching Yankees fill 1B and get a TOR arm for 2 more years while keeping Frazier and their nearly MLB ready arms in Adams and Sheffield.
The Jumper
Way too much to pay Oakland. They don’t need a first baseman.
Justin Henriquez
– Yankees get: Sonny Gray and Yander Alonso
– Athletics get: Blake Rutherford, Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, and Tyler Austin
cmancoley
That’s not enough going to the A’s. Hate to break it to you, but Sonny Gray and Yonder Alonso are actually going to cost prospects. No team is just going to give away a young and established controllable arm and an above average middle of the order bat
tenman85
lol
Justin Henriquez
Athletics know they’re not getting Torres or Frazier in that deal…nor are they getting anyone else’s NO.1 and NO.2 prospects
4 of the 6 players I mentioned are in the Yankees Top 10 Prospects List: Rutherford #3, Mateo #4, Andujar #9, Abreu #10
The others: Acevedo #12 and Austin #14
MurderersRow27
Quintana is a better pitcher with FAR less injury concerns than Gray, and with an extra year of team control as well… So what makes you think the Yankees are going to trade 6 of their top 15 prospects for Gray and 2 months of Alonso?
Justin Henriquez
Those prospects I mentioned are the most expendable prospects they have..they can’t keep all of them…only players that have a clear path to the majors on this team is Torres, Frazier, Wade, Sheffield, and Adams…There’s no place on the infield for Mateo and Rutherford won’t be ready until 2019 or 2020, Andujar is blocked by Headley and Torres. I’d rather give up Acevedo and Abreu then giving up Adams, Sheffield, or Kaprielian
MurderersRow27
You might think they’re expendable (which is fine to think that way), but it doesn’t mean they should trade 6 top 15 prospects for Gray and Alonso. I do agree with the statement that they can’t keep all of their prospects, and they won’t. It just doesn’t make sense to trade that whole package for Gray and Alonso, especially considering what the Cubs gave up for Quintana. That’s a huge overpay from the Yankees’ point of view, period.
Justin Henriquez
Yea I just saw the trade the D Backs made for JD Martinez..if the D backs only gave up that little for Martinez, I think the Yankees can get both Gray and Alonso just by giving up Mateo, Acevedo, and two other prospects out of the Top 15 of their prospects
rocky7
Frankly, that’s plenty going over to the A’s given that Gray is an injury concern going off a couple of unspectacular years….and his recent success just may be tied to his knowledge lots of teams are looking at him, and Alonzo is a rental who is having a career year….why would the Yankees want to pay Alonzo for what he has done for Oakland when with whats left in the year, his production probably won’t proper them into the playoffs.
Curious?
Justin Henriquez
He would definitely be an upgrade from what they have now..I personally think the Yankees are in this, I’m not panicking cause of this stretch..before this they were practically playing like one the best teams in baseball..a controllable arm in Gray and a lefty slugger like Alonso I think would help this team big time, Bird is still the first baseman of this team going forward
Remms12
no team is gonna gargle billy beanes balls for 20 years while he fails to win anything and writes moneyball… except A’s fan
thegreatcerealfamine
And then you sobered up. This is a Mets-Yankees article.
rocky7
How about the Yankees throw Santa too!
billysbballz
Lol no! Take out Rutherford and Mateo and start over! The Yanks are not one Sonny Gray away from anything! Think people and work with us here for a common sense trade that helps both teams.
Hers a counter offer Florial, Thairo Estrada, Acevedo, and your choice of Mitchell or Clarkin and that’s for both Gray and Alonso! If that’s not getting it done then Houston and Milwaukee can kick in two top 10 prospects and two top 20 with more value then the four players mentioned and get the oft injured Sonny Gray. I bet almost half of Yankee U is not too keen on adding him for prospects and the other half that wants him, a majority of them don’t want him if the return damages the rebuild which pretty much a majority of Yankee fans in the know are 100% behind and realize a rebuild can stretch through 2018!
willi
Not enough !
Premier Pitchers alone that are controllable get at least three Top Projects !
Priggs89
Chris Sale – better pitcher with same amount of control – took two top prospects
Jose Quintana – similar (could argue better) pitcher with more control – took two top prospects
Guess you missed those trades…
MurderersRow27
Gray is hardly a premier pitcher anymore, not after the past 2 years. Quintana brought back 2 top prospects and then 2 organizational prospects, and he’s a better pitcher than Gray is (especially considering the durability/lack of injury concern/history, stats, contract and extra year of team control over Gray).
Houston We Have A Solution
A’s need OF more than they need someone like Mateo and Andujar. Rutherford and Florial make more sense as targets.
frankthetank1985
Reed should command a top 5 prospect from any team based on what happened last year with the top relief trades. I know he isn’t as good as them last year but he is a stud at what he does and should command at least a top 5 prospect. Duda like the article says is under appreciated so u never know what he could bring back for u.
bronxbombers
lol let’s no hype up reed and Duda. The market is very thin with buyers at 1b leading to a decrease in competition. Also, although reed is a good rp there are many more similar in Miami (barraclough, aj Ramos, phelps) Detroit (Justin Wilson) philly (neshek) Atlanta (vizcaino)
MLBTRinsider
not gonna happen
KnicksFanCavsFan
Most of these trade ideas are ridiculous. Let’s revisit what we’re talking about. Duda is a solid 1B, not a superstar. Reed is a very good closer, not an elite one. Neither should command a top 5 prospect from a top 3 farm system. They are also both FA which means that they are rentals. The Yanks have holes but neither of these two guys are saviors that will mean the difference between being a 85-90 win team vs a world series contender. If Cashman is good at anything it’s being self-aware. Duda and Reed plug holes but are not major impact players.
Mets need/wants- The Mets have 3 or 4 SS and 2 or 3 first base prospects. What they aren’t deep on and have an immediate need for with Bruce and Granderson leaving they might want mlb ready outfielders and pitching.
Duda and Reed for Dustin Fowler, Ian Clarkin, Jake Cave and Tyler Austin
willi
Lucas ” Donkey “Duda , is not going to Yankees nor Reed .
Cashman would rather sell his soul to the Devil than help the Mutts long term !
thunder12k
I think this is exactly what the type of trade would look like. Fowler 2-3 of their 15-25 ranked prospects
iuo
Coming from a Mets fan the reality is this is a buyers market. There are more teams selling than buying. Your not getting big time prospects for Duda or Reed. The Mets just need to get something for them instead of just losing them to free agency and getting nothing. Fact is the Mets aren’t going to offer Duda a qualifying offer either because Duda may accept it.
padam
Agreed. I think if the Mets tossed Lugo in with Duda and Reed they may be able to pry Mateo away from the Yanks. Mets could use a young 2B to pair up with Rosario. Yanks fill a few needs.
hojostache
The Mets have 3-4 guys who can play 2B and provide 2-3WAR. They need a legit 3B, CF (Not Ells…ugh), and news owners + manager. Trading away a mid-rotation cheap arm w a ton of control is not happening.
Say Hey Now Kid
I would like if the Mets tried to extend Reed but I don’t know if that’s possible. I think they need him next year. He’s an awesome setup man and may have to be the closer again depending on how Familia recovers from his surgery.
padam
Ditto, but I don’t think he’d sign at this point with the season he’s having. He’s certainly going to test the market.
kingman1
Cubs and Indians both paid big prices last year to the Yankees to get to the World Series which is the point in the first place. You want to dance you pay the fiddler. You want to have the number one farm system be my guest. Sometimes I get the feeling some people want prospects more than the World Series. World Series opportunities only come along once in a while.There’s always another great prospect. Winners go for it. Goobers cherish Baseball America’s top 100.
MurderersRow27
The market for relievers last year was far different than this year, and there was much better relief pitching available. You can’t really compare this year’s market to last year’s, especially in regard to relievers. There is no Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman available, and there isn’t 2 teams with the longest World Series droughts in the game jockeying for absolute relief studs.
slider32
Both Gray and Alonzo are a good fit for the Yanks, Alonzo is only owed a million while Gray is controllable. Trading for Gray would be similar to what the Cubs did for Quintana. The Yanks are losing CC and Pineda next year, so Gray is a good replacement.
The Jumper
Don’t be so sure about CC.
JYD5321
The Mets under Wilpon always screw these things up by focusing on pennies/sound bites and missing the bigger picture. They’ll refuse to pay any part of the salary in exchange for taking less back in prospects. That’s OK when you’re dealing JD Martinez or Quintana. But not when trying to trade Bruce (over the winter) or now with guys like Duda and Reed. They’ll worry about the back page and the possibility that the Yankees will come out of the deal looking good and them bad. They’ll go in without a plan, and wing it. It’s never really a buyer’s market at the deadline, a level one is the best it gets for buyers. But there are stupid sellers that might make it seem like a buyer’s market, and the Mets qualify..
ErnestoRumors
Poor headline!
I detest jeff todd.
Doesn’t give a damn about the English language.
AidanVega123
Go away Ernesto
Armaday
As a Mets fan, would love to have Mateo. He is blocked on the Yankees. Was hoping they would get something done for Duda and Reed. Maybe a mute point now that Yanks made a move.
the.sophisticant
duda……………duda……………..duda duda duda duda…………ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh