NEW YORK _ The Mets and Mariners are engaged in trade talks about a potential blockbuster that would send second baseman Robinson Cano and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to Queens, but no deal was close to completion as of midday Thursday, a source said.
Among the most prominent unanswered questions regarding such a trade: How much of Cano's contract would Seattle pay? And which prospects are the Mets comfortable giving up?
Cano, 36 and coming off a season in which he served an 80-game PED suspension, is owed $120 million over the next five years, the back half of one of the largest contracts in baseball history. In his previous career as a player agent, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen negotiated Cano's 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners after the 2013 season.
The Mariners, embarking on a rebuild that has already included a trade of lefthander James Paxton to the Yankees and catcher Mike Zunino to the Rays, are motivated to dump Cano's contract, so much so that they are willing to pay it down and perhaps include Diaz in the same trade, according to multiple reports.
Diaz, 24, led the majors with 57 saves in 2018, finishing eighth in AL Cy Young Award voting. With a fastball that regularly touched 100 mph, Diaz had the best ERA (1.96) and WHIP (0.79) of his three major-league seasons. Significantly, Diaz is under team control for four more seasons.
For the Mets, who are in need of back-end bullpen arms and plan to add multiple relievers this offseason, Diaz would be a big get, though the free-agent market is filled with brand-name relievers: Craig Kimbrel, Adam Ottavino, Andrew Miller Zach Britton, Jeurys Familia, David Robertson and others.
Ken Rosenthal reported that a pair of former first-round picks _ outfielder Justin Kelenic and right-hander Justin Dunn _ are among the names being discussed in the trade talks with the Mariners.
