{"id":341201,"date":"2025-12-11T07:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/341201\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T07:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:31:09","slug":"mets-interested-in-willson-contreras-lars-nootbaar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/341201\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets Interested In Willson Contreras, Lars Nootbaar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mets have grabbed headlines for the moves they haven\u2019t\u00a0made this offseason, namely watching Pete Alonso<\/a> sign with Baltimore and Edwin Diaz<\/a> head to Los Angeles. The club is actively working to add on the offensive side, though, with the Cardinals as a potential trade partner. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports<\/a> the Mets have interest in outfielder Lars Nootbaar<\/a>, while\u00a0John Denton of MLB.com reports<\/a> New York reached out about Willson Contreras<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Neither Contreras nor Nootbaar would replace the Alonso-sized void in the lineup, but both would fill holes in the roster. Contreras could slot right into Alonso\u2019s vacated spot at first base, while Nootbaar would help cover the gap left by Brandon Nimmo<\/a>, who was dealt to the Rangers.<\/p>\n

Contreras and Nootbaar are just a couple of the many Cardinals popping up in trade conversations<\/a>. Brendan Donovan<\/a> is drawing widespread interest. JoJo Romero<\/a> has intrigued<\/a> several teams. Nolan Arenado<\/a> has been a trade candidate for multiple seasons. Nolan Gorman<\/a> and Alec Burleson<\/a> have been mentioned as possibly getting moved. Despite the interest around the league, nothing materialized during the Winter Meetings. \u201cTo some degree, it\u2019s binary \u2014 either you have something or you don\u2019t. Right now, we don\u2019t,\u201d president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom told reporters.<\/p>\n

As Anthony Franco pointed out in this piece<\/a> about replacing Alonso (Front Office subscription required), Contreras would be the most straightforward fit in the trade market. He has a no-trade clause, but is reportedly<\/a> open to waiving it. Contreras is under contract for the next two seasons, with a club option for 2028. He\u2019s slated to make $18MM next season and $18.5MM in 2027. The price tag isn\u2019t exorbitant for his level of production, but it might be too costly for the rebuilding Cardinals to keep around.<\/p>\n

Contreras has been a firmly above-average bat in his three seasons with St. Louis. He\u2019s posted a wRC+ of at least 124 in each campaign. Contreras has a pair of 20-homer campaigns as a Cardinal, and the lone miss was his most productive year with the team. He hit 15 home runs in just 84 games in 2024, but a broken finger ended his season in late June.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old Contreras hasn\u2019t missed a beat as he\u2019s entered his 30s. His profile has arguably looked even better under the hood in recent years. Contreras posted a career-high 49% hard-hit rate this past season. He ranked 95th percentile in bat speed. Contreras has been one of the hardest swingers in the game since bat speed data became widely available.<\/p>\n

The Nootbaar fit isn\u2019t as seamless, largely due to availability. The outfielder had surgery on both heels in October and may miss<\/a> the beginning of the 2026 season. The procedure may have already removed one team from contention<\/a> for Nootbaar\u2019s services. Replacing Nimmo\u2019s strong on-base skills and steady all-around production will be difficult, but so will finding another option to match his durability. The former Met has topped 150 games in four straight seasons. The oft-injured Nootbaar has maxed out at 135 games in a season, and that came this past year, which ended with the double-heel surgery.<\/p>\n

Nootbaar has generally been productive when available. He\u2019s routinely posted well above-average walk rates and solid slugging numbers. Nootbaar is typically good for a dozen home runs, a handful of steals, and a respectable OBP. The 2025 season was a healthy one, but Nootbaar declined in production. He slashed just .234\/.325\/.361, recording his first sub-100 wRC+ since his rookie season in 2021.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mets have grabbed headlines for the moves they haven\u2019t\u00a0made this offseason, namely watching Pete Alonso sign with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,95953,591,85,71181],"class_list":{"0":"post-341201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-lars-nootbaar","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-willson-contreras"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}