Mets trade rumors: Mets have asked about A’s Danny Valencia

Despite the capable play of Wilmer Flores and Kelly Johnson over the past couple of weeks, the Mets are still in the market for a third baseman to replace David Wright, whose season may be over after undergoing surgery for a herniated disk in his neck.

According to the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson explored a trade for Oakland A’s third baseman Danny Valencia before acquiring Johnson. However, with Oakland not quite ready to go into full rebuilding mode, some time will pass before serious talks can begin.

The 31-year-old Valencia is enjoying the best year of his career, currently hitting .327/.370/.550 over 46 games. Valencia has also played the corner outfield positions and first and second base in his major league career. Valencia has one more year on his contract after this season, becoming a free agent after 2017. Given all these factors, A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane will expect a substantial haul in return for him.

Should a deal happen, it will be the second straight year that the Mets have acquired a piece from the A’s during the season. The Mets received Tyler Clippard in exchange for pitching prospect Casey Meisner at the trade deadline last year.