A Tuesday morning report from ESPN's Jeff Passan indicated that the Chicago Cubs were likely to trade All-Star catcher Willson Contreras. According to New York Mets beat writer Pat Ragazzo, the NL East club has been in active talks with the Cubs regarding Contreras, as well as closer David Robertson.
Sources: Mets and Cubs have been discussing a potential trade package that would send Willson Contreras and David Robertson to NY for multiple prospects (Not named Alvarez or Baty)
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) July 26, 2022
Talks are ongoing, packages still being discussed as of late last weekendhttps://t.co/Ef247mvW4M
Ragazzo noted that the possible trade package would see the Mets ship off "multiple top prospects," but catcher Francisco Alvarez and third baseman Brett Baty were "off limits."
"That said, as of late last weekend, an agreement was not yet close, as the two sides are still tweaking the package. But the current sense is that the Mets are 'committed' to landing Contreras, who all of a sudden appears to be their current focus, with a week to go until the August 2 deadline," he wrote.
Contreras recently made his third career All-Star team, and through 81 games played thus far, has posted a career-high (and team-best) .374 on-base percentage, while leading the Cubs in runs scored (50) and OPS (.847) as well. As pointed out by Ragazzo, the hard-hitting backstop hits lefties particularly well (.893 career OPS, 1.074 OPS in 2022) and with Atlanta Braves All-Star starting pitcher Max Fried atop the team's rotation, an addition of a bat like Contreras could come in handy.
Meanwhile, in his 14th big-league season, Robertson currently leads Chicago in saves with 14 stops. While the Mets already showcase one of the best closers in the sport in Edwin Diaz, the addition of Robertson could help bolster the bullpen with a hurler who has 33 postseason outings and a World Series ring to his credit.
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