The Mets felt that if they didn't quickly finalize their trade for Mariners closer Edwin Diaz and INF Robinson Cano, that Diaz would have been traded to the Phillies, COO Jeff Wilpon said Tuesday at Citi Field.
The Phillies were trying to snag Diaz as part of the trade that eventually netted them SS Jean Segura, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported earlier Tuesday.
According to Rosenthal, discussions between the Phillies and Mariners for Segura and Diaz included RHP Sixto Sanchez, the Phillies' top prospect who is the No. 21 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list.
However, the Phils ultimately decided they would rather keep Sanchez and try to land a top reliever via free agency, Rosenthal notes.
The Phillies then acquired Segura, RH reliever Juan Nicasio, and LH reliever James Pazos from the Mariners while sending them shortstop J.P. Crawford (a former top prospect who has struggled in the majors in 2017 and 2018) and 1B Carlos Santana.
In looking at the blockbuster between the Mets and Mariners, it can in a way be broken down as two separate deals:
1. Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak for Cano and $20 million.
2. Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, and Gerson Bautista for Diaz.
While the Mariners would have gotten the highest-ranked prospect by far if they had reached a deal with the Phillies centered around Sanchez, they would have been unable to send Cano there.
If Diaz had wound up in Philadelphia, would the Mets have still done the Cano deal?