The following six players (and four others) all have value to the Mets, but may also have value to other teams via trade.
I asked two rival team executives and two people in player development if the Mets should keep or push to trade each player.
Here are the results along with my reaction...
Wilson Ramos
MLB Insiders: 4 Keep, 0 Trade
He isn't perfect. And Brodie Van Wagenen last winter clearly preferred Yasmani Grandal. However, despite a rocky start, Ramos hit .350 with 15 extra base hits during the team's final 45 games, all of which had them fighting for a spot in the postseason.
More importantly, he is under contract this season, will be paid $10 million and can be a free agent at the end of the year. Grandal or no Grandal, the Mets aren't signing a 2.0 WAR catcher to that contract who can hit like Ramos with a full year under his belt working with their pitching staff.
I agree with the above sources. Ramos may not have been the preferred option last winter, but he is now...
Dominic Smith
MLB Insiders: 2 Keep, 2 Trade
Smith has gone from top prospect to big-league question mark in less than 18 months. He has shown he is a major-league player, but is there room for him with the Mets?
Pete Alonso will be the team's first baseman through the foreseeable future. In the outfield next season, the Mets will have Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, potentially Jeff McNeil (if he isn't at third base), and possibly J.D. Davis and Yoenis Cespedes.
According to the above insiders, teams will be intrigued by Smith because he comes with nearly zero risk and a projectable upside. He can field first base, hit, is a wonderful teammate, just 24 years old, earning the league minimum the next two seasons, and he's under team control through 2024.
I'd try to trade him. However, if it doesn't pan out, he can stick and continue serving as a much-needed, left-handed bat off the bench, backup to Alonso and fill-in corner outfielder.
Van Wagenen can then revisit Smith's trade value next summer.
J.D. Davis
MLB Insiders: 2 Keep, 2 Trade
Davis is a tough call. I'm not surprised it's a 2-2 split. On one hand, he's a 26-year-old third baseman that just hit .310 and 22 home runs during a sporadic 453 at-bats.
He's like the new Kevin Mitchell.
At the same time, because he's 26, hit .310 and had 22 home runs, not to mention he's earning the league minimum and under contract through 2024, he could be Van Wagenen's best shot at a trade that helps upgrade his pitching staff.
Similar to Mitchell, Davis can play multiple positions and I have no doubt that if traded he will go on to crush 40-plus home runs and make us regret the day he was dealt. I mean, that's how it goes, right?
Again, though, if he can be swapped for a promising, affordable starting pitcher, it's hard to not at least consider making a trade.
Michael Conforto
MLB Insiders: 4 Keep, 0 Trade
Conforto, who has improved every season, is coming off 33 home runs and 92 RBI. He's also a quiet leader, has proven he can handle New York, he's played in the postseason and he's crazy competitive.
I'm sticking to my prediction that, with Alonso batting around him, Conforto will soon win an MVP.
Van Wagenen shouldn't trade him, he should give him a contract extension.
Noah Syndergaard
MLB Insiders: 3 Keep, 1 Trade
I teeter on Syndergaard because it's hard to believe he isn't inches from some sort of major surgery. It's just the nature of pitching, especially given his power and mechanics. Nevertheless, here he is, defying physics and having a ton of fun doing it.
He could bring in a haul of young talent if traded -- something Van Wagenen strongly suggested will not happen this offseason. Like Conforto, there is major value in guys that love New York, understand the fans and can handle the pressure of playing here. He's one of those guys and there's no lock that anyone he's traded for will have the same results.
If the Mets are going to rebuild, fine, trade Syndergaard. If they're again pushing for the postseason, he has to stay and continue being a vital part of the rotation.
Seth Lugo
MLB Insiders: 4 Keep, 0 Trade
Lugo can be a closer, middle reliever, starting pitcher and an Andrew Miller-like, multi-inning reliever and do it all to great success and without skipping a beat. Like Conforto and Syndergaard, he's done it under the pressures of New York.
Lugo is the guy who, if a free agent, we'd be begging Van Wagenen to sign and upgrade the bullpen with. Well, he's already here, which is exactly where he should stay.
For what it's worth, at least three of the four insiders also feel the Mets should keep pitchers Justin Wilson, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia and Steven Matz. The argument being that, if Van Wagenen wants to win in 2020, he'll want to get back big-league talent for the above four -- and that's unlikely to happen in the current economy. And if he accepted back prospects, he'd then need to replace these people on the open market, which will be difficult to do given each player's upside, track record or current contract.