What a New York Mets trade for Edwin Diaz’s brother would look like

The New York Mets are without closer Edwin Diaz for the entire season thanks to an injury sustained in the WBC. Could they trade for his brother?

The Mets reportedly inquired about Alexis Diaz — a young, up-and-coming reliever for the Cincinnati Reds — just last season. However, Cincinnati wouldn’t budge, and for good reason.

The younger Diaz finished last year in the top-5 in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and showed flashes of the same electric potential as his brother Edwin. He’s also under contract for quite some time, as he’s pre-arbitration and owed under $1 million next season.

Because Diaz is both talented and affordable, AND the Mets are desperate for bullpen help, the price for a player of his caliber could be hefty.

Would the Mets trade for Alex Diaz after Edwin Diaz injury?

As FanSided’s Drew Koch notes, Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler could offer quite a bit for the Reds reliever:

“Don’t put it past Mets executive Billy Eppler to give Reds GM Nick Krall a phone call. While trading Alexis Diaz wouldn’t be looked upon very favorably by the Cincinnati faithful, with the Reds in the midst of a rebuild, a desperate team like the Mets might be willing to give up a king’s ransom in order to land the younger Diaz.”

So, what would a trade look like? Alexis is only 26 years old, and under contract through what would likely be his age-30 season. He’d form a formidable back-end duo with his brother even when Edwin returns. Given Cincinnati’s timeline, they’re unlikely to want much MLB-level talent back in return, so to the prospect rankings we go!

Reds Get

C, Kevin Parada

1B/3B, Mark Vientos

Parada is a top-40 prospect overall in baseball, and the third-ranked prospect in New York’s system. The catch, however, is his position. Francisco Alvarez is the future at catcher for New York. Parada would immediately become one of Cincinnati’s top prospects, but wouldn’t hurt the Mets too much given their organizational depth.

The same can be said for Vientos, who as a corner infielder could struggle to see much playing time. He’s impressed at Mets spring training, but is behind the likes of Brett Baty at third base, and Pete Alonso at first.

Diaz is a hot commodity and one of the better young bullpen arms in the big. Two top-10 prospects — while expensive — is about what New York should expect if they want to pull this off.