Evan Roberts has an interesting Mets-Yankees change of scenery trade idea: Gleyber for McNeil?
Sometimes you just need a change of scenery, and Leon Rose and Sean Marks have shown just this week that cross-town trades can benefit both teams here in the Big Apple.
And that also gave Evan Roberts an idea.
"I wanna thank Leon Rose and I wanna thank Sean Marks, because they taught us a very important lesson over the last few days: anything can happen, and sometimes, you just need to look across the river or across town to fix your issues," Evan said. "So I believe it is a best-case scenario for all parties involved to simply try the change of scenery theory. Sometimes, just being in a new place helps you."
Evan's example was Luis Severino, who is thriving in Queens, and because of that, he had another thought on bringing in a maligned Yankee while helping the Mets' future payroll and maybe the Yankees' outfield situation…Gleyber Torres for Jeff McNeil?
"Gleyber Torres needs one, and I saw something last night – we all saw it – the viral video of a brand new hit song called OMG," Evan said.
"And as I watched that song play, I realized someone needs OMG in their life, and that person is Gleyber Torres, who needs to become a New York Met. I think it would benefit him; I think his time with the Yankees is over and I think that OMG would be exactly what Gleyber needs in his life."
Tiki asked 'what are we getting back' and Shaun chimed in with 'the satisfaction of watching Evan see him struggle there,' but no – it's actually the pre-shift batting champ who has been mostly benched for Mr. OMG, Jose Iglesias.
"You also get a change of scenery candidate, a guy who I think needs to be away from OMG: JEFF MCNEIL!" Evan said, right after Tiki threatened to turn off the mic if Evan said that…but Shaun immediately said, 'I make that deal in a heartbeat!'
The tangle, as Evan explained, is that McNeil is under contract for two more years at $15.75 million per, so that's a steep price for the already bloated Yankees payroll (although this year's salary is basically a wash) – but hear him out.
"McNeil is hitting .213, Torres is hitting .215, and their OBP and slugging are both about equal – and they're both awful," Evan said. "But, the Yankees would be getting a left-handed bat, a versatile player, and a guy who I think you've seen what he can do. I'm done with Jeff McNeil, but I can see him going somewhere else and being successful, and I would tell my fellow Mets fan that it's okay. And, all jokes aside, I think both guys would benefit from a change of scenery."
Shaun said he'd do it, but Tiki still thinks it's horrible.
"I just look at the contract and I don't know how punitive it really is to what the Yankees are are trying to do as far as conserving resources, as we heard Hal say a few weeks ago," Tiki said. "But something feels off with Jeff McNeil and I don't think it's a change of scenery thing, I think it's an approach thing. For whatever reason, when the shift went away, which shouldn't have affected him, it seems to have affected him. He can't hit, can't find the open spaces, and he's frustrated."
It's a 'why the hell not' theory for Evan, but Tiki thinks that kind of theory is 'a desperation move.'
"McNeil is not your future whatever, so it's like, hey, let's just get him because what the hell, what do we have to lose?" Tiki asked.
"I think you do. You have a lot to lose, and the negative for the Yankees is his deal, but the positive is you're trying something," Evan said. "The Yankees are playing terrible, what are you gonna do about it? You can run the same guys out there every day and hope things change, which is what they're doing, or you can try something and it is possible that you make a deal like this for a guy having a down year and all of a sudden he figures it out."
"Yeah, I still would do it, because in the end you're not gonna sign Gleyber anyway, and at this point he's not helping us, so I would take the shot in the dark," Shaun replied. "Personally, though, I prefer Reid Garrett and Grimace."
