This winter at the GM Meetings, the Mets are in the market for an elite shortstop for the first time since 2011 when Jose Reyes was a free agent, writes David Lennon of Newsday. Lennon believes that Stephen Drew will be out of the club's price range, leaving them to consider Jhonny Peralta or acquiring someone via trade. If they do spend on someone like the former Tigers shortstop, the Mets could theoretically shift Ruben Tejada over to second base, which would leave Daniel Murphy without a starting spot. Here's the NL East news out of Orlando, Florida, where our own Steve Adams is on the scene..
- While the Nationals have been linked to top pitchers David Price and Max Scherzer, Washington is expected to also discuss Cubs’ right-hander Jeff Samardzija, a person familiar with the Nationals’ thinking tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The Cubs hurler posted a 4.34 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 and his xFIP of 3.45 suggests he was stronger than his ERA shows.
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) expects the Mets to assess Ike Davis' trade value while they're in Orlando, Florida. Last week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Davis is very likely to be dealt, with Lucas Duda getting an opportunity to play first.
- Martino also says (via Twitter) that there's no indication that there will be major Mets developments right away.
