The New York Mets have decided against a trade with the San Diego Padres that would have sent first baseman Eric Hosmer and pitcher Chris Paddack to New York, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. SNY's Andy Martino says the Padres wanted to do the trade, but ultimately the Mets decided to pass.
Here are the full trade details of the failed trade:
- Mets receive: 1B Eric Hosmer, RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Emilio Pagan, $30 million
- Padres receive: 1B Dominic Smith
Hosmer has four years and $59 million remaining on his contract, so the Padres were willing to pay a significant portion of that to facilitate the trade. There were rumblings the Mets would flip Hosmer elsewhere, though his contract gives him a full no-trade clause after the first time he's traded, which would have complicated things.
Hosmer, 32, has spent four seasons with the Padres, and San Diego as been rumored for some time to be interested in shedding his salary. As Sherman notes, the addition of Hosmer and the entirety of his remaining contract -- before it was known the Padres would kick in cash -- would have made the 2022 Mets the first team in MLB history to run a payroll of $300 million or more. The trade also would have landed the Mets in the new top tier of luxury tax penalties, which are part of the new collective-bargaining agreement and seem tailored to rein in the spending of Mets owner Steve Cohen.
Hosmer with the Padres has put up a 102 OPS+, which is modestly below-average production for a first baseman. Hosmer's fit with the Mets would not have been a seamless one, as they already have Pete Alonso at first base. Robinson Canó -- a left-handed hitter, like Hosmer -- is in line to be the primary DH. On the other hand, Canó is 39 and missed all of last season after testing positive for a banned substance, and it's theoretically possible that the Mets may have doubts about his ability to produce adequately at this stage of his career. Really, though, the Mets would have taken on Hosmer and his contract mostly as a means to acquire rotation help in Paddack.
As for Paddack, the 26-year-old has impressive stuff and strong results at the command-and-control level. On the downside, injuries have been a concern, and he's been merely average in terms of run prevention. The Mets' interest in Paddack clearly had much to do with ace Jacob deGrom's latest injury concerns (a stress reaction in his scapula), which will cost him a significant chunk of the 2022 season.
On the Padres' side of things, Smith would have replaced Hosmer's lefty bat in the lineup and also been able to man an outfield corner on occasion. With the bat, Smith struggled in 2021. Going into his age-27 campaign, Smith has an OPS+ of 104 for his career.
