All of the New York Mets' offseason signings and trades have left things a bit crowded for their young infielders.
That could set up for a trade, and one ESPN prediction has the Mets landing one of the most unique players in baseball from the Seattle Mariners: a switch-pitcher, Jurrangelo Cijntje.
David Schoenfield's full idea is this: The Mets send Brett Baty to the Mariners for Cijntje and Matt Brash.
Baty is a promising young hitter, but it's hard to see any every-day role for him in New York this season.
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Instead, the Mets would add a couple of good pitchers to their organization, including a major league reliever in Brash.
"With the Bichette signing, Baty has been pushed off third base in New York," Schoenfield writes. "He could slide to first base or DH, but the Mets have Jorge Polanco and Mark Vientos for those positions. Instead, look for David Stearns to use Baty to help replenish his farm system after the trades for Freddy Peralta and Luis Robert Jr. Cijntje is the hard-throwing switch-pitcher the Mariners drafted in the first round in 2024. He needs more seasoning but is a potential power arm for the rotation. Brash provides some needed bullpen depth."
And yes, Cijntje really throws with both arms.
Seattle's development plan has involved him throwing with one arm mid-week and the other on the weekend, not switching in the middle of his outings but instead allowing him to be available twice as often.
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He also has a wider margin for error. If it turns out Cijntje only is MLB-ready from one side, that's OK. He essentially has two possible paths to make the majors, plus the path where both arms are good enough.
Baty would solve the Mariners' third base opening, too.
"Baty is still pre-arb, so is a perfect payroll fit, and comes with four years of team control while coming off a 3.1-WAR season that saw much improved defense," Schoenfield writes. "Baty allows top prospect Colt Emerson more time in the minors before replacing J.P. Crawford at shortstop in 2027. And even after trading Cijntje, the Mariners would still have two top-100 pitching prospects in Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan."
This trade could work out nicely for both sides, if it were to come to fruition.
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