Mets trade rumors: Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker clear waivers

Add Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker to the list of Mets who have cleared waivers and can be traded anytime through the end of August, as Jon Heyman reports. He also mentions that AJ Ramos and Yoenis Cespedes have cleared, but they’re not in the headline above because the Mets seem unlikely to deal Ramos and incredibly unlikely to trade Cespedes.

Cabrera and Walker, though, are players whose names have come up in trade rumors over the past few weeks. The Mets have an $8.5 million option on Cabrera for 2018 with a $2 million buyout, and he could be retained as a utility infielder or backup option for full-time play at either second or third base. The latter scenario wouldn’t be ideal, but if the Mets were thriving at the other three infield positions, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. And Walker, who is set to hit free agency, could make sense to retain at second base, though his injuries this year and last make him a bit risky.

Cabrera has hit .261/.334/.401 this year with nine home runs and a just-below-league-average 98 wRC+. Walker has hit .254/.332/.431 with nine home runs and a 103 wRC+. So neither player is having his best season, but both are capable players who could help a contending team if they were to be traded.