What Mets might trade for 8-time All-Star

The New York Mets might have a hard time passing up on this potential trade.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns addressed the media during his introductory press conference. | (Gordon Donovan / NurPhoto via AP)

The New York Mets turned a lot of heads when they executed a trade for former Texas Rangers second baseman and 2025 Gold Glove Award winner Marcus Semien in exchange for beloved outfielder Brandon Nimmo last week.

This showed that New York's president of baseball operations, David Stearns, was dead serious when noting that he was going to prioritize run prevention when deciding how to improve the roster this offseason. While Nimmo wasn't a bad defensive outfielder, the Mets' infield is significantly improved with Semien up the middle, which was clearly one reason why Stearns pulled the trigger on this deal.

Read more: Mets talking to 3 potential Edwin Diaz replacements in free agency

The trade also might suggest that Stearns is going to keep being aggressive on the market. What's for sure is that New York won't close any doors in finding ways to make this team most competitive for the 2026 season, especially when it comes to adding elite defenders.

And there are few better defenders than eight-time MLB All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, Nolan Arenado, who is currently playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) throws to first base for an out against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Arenado was reportedly on the trade market last offseason, but made it clear that he would exercise his no-trade clause if he was dealt to all but a few teams. However, the 34-year-old has said that he's more willing to accept a trade this winter after the Cardinals had a disappointing season and he showed regression at the plate.

Expert Makes Mets-Nolan Arenado Mock Trade

This willingness from Arenado was the basis of Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com making a hypothetical trade proposal that brought to elite defender to Queens in a November 27 article.

"Mariners get: UTIL Brendan Donovan

"Mets get: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP/LHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (Mariners’ No. 8 prospect)

"Cardinals get: OF Lazaro Montes (Mariners’ No. 3 prospect), RHP Camden Lohman (Mets’ No. 30 prospect)," Castrovince wrote.

He later added, "Here, the Mets take on the $37 million owed to Arenado through 2027. While his bat has sagged, Arenado’s glove is a hot corner upgrade for a Mets team clearly focused on run-prevention (as evidenced by their trade for Semien). And to offset some of the financial burden they’re (ably) taking on, the Mets add the intriguing switch-pitcher Cijntje to their system."

[ducks] https://t.co/ciUrlBQYvj

— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) November 28, 2025

This potential deal (which Castrovince himself called "ridiculous") would add a lot of money to New York's payroll. However, Arenado in the hot corner would give the Mets one of the National League's best infields while also securing a fascinating prospect in Cijntje, who pitches with both hands. And if money and their No. 30 prospect are all they'd need to give up, this would be a deal worth considering.

92 MPH lefty one pitch
95 MPH righty the next one

Jurrangelo Cijntje is electric ⚡️ #SpringBreakout pic.twitter.com/sZy7Tmlu3A

— MLB (@MLB) March 15, 2025

Therefore, there's a case to be made that this deal wouldn't be ridiculous for the Mets at all.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.