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With the Milwaukee Brewers easily being the most disappointing team in baseball during the month of April, it has not taken long for talk to begin about the team trading away several of its players and starting to rebuild. One of the first names to garner speculation is shortstop Jean Segura, with his ultimate destination being the New York Mets. However, before the rumors can start, it should be made clear that Segura is not an upgrade at shortstop for New York, and this is not a trade scenario the Mets should entertain.
The thinking behind this trade is that Segura is off to a promising start offensively in 2015 and would provide an upgrade defensively over Wilmer Flores. This is a reasonable thought, but Segura has already committed seven errors in 2015. That is three more than Flores, who has actually settled in defensively after a few shaky throws early in the season. Flores may have limitations in his range, but he has shown the hands and arm strength to make the play on anything he can reach.
Offensively, Segura may be off to a good start, but he does not have the major league track record to assure anyone that he will be able to keep it up all season. Even with a fast start, Segura is not a strong candidate to hit at the top of the Mets’ order, meaning he would in no way be an offensive upgrade over Flores. In fact, Flores is starting to come around offensively and could be ready to take on a more prominent role in the Mets’ order.
Even if the Mets could acquire Segura without giving up much, he would be a marginal upgrade at best, but obviously not a sure thing. Add to the equation the possibility of the Mets having to give up a substantial prospect for him, and there’s no way the Mets should consider any type of trade for Segura.
Moreover, acquiring a shortstop would just further muddle of the team’s future at that position, as the Mets have Matt Reynolds at Triple-A, Gavin Cecchini at Double-A and Amed Rosario as a high-ceiling prospect who may be an option in a few years. At the very least, the Mets owe Flores more time to prove he can be the solution at shortstop — especially when Segura would not be a substantial upgrade. This is why any speculation of Segura being traded to New York should be ignored.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.
