Mets rumors: Here’s why the Eric Hosmer trade fell through

On Saturday, the New York Mets were close to trading for San Diego Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer, along with some starting pitching. What happened?

As I wrote on Saturday, rumors surfaced suggesting New York would take on Hosmer’s contract — thus putting them in Steve Cohen tax territory — in exchange for some pitching depth. Players such as Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan were mentioned.

Homser has since commented, saying he’s ready to play on Opening Day…somewhere. No one knows where yet. On Sunday, the Padres made another trade, this time for A’s pitcher Sean Manaea.

The Mets trade fell through in part due to Hosmer’s contract. The front office decided that the ends didn’t justify the means — those means being the four years and close to $60 million left on Hosmer’s deal.

Per Joel Sherman, it would’ve cost New York about $24 million of Hosmer’s deal to upgrade their pitching staff. That wasn’t going to fly in Queens.

Mets rumors: Eric Hosmer trade dead

New York would’ve sent back first baseman Dominic Smith in the trade, as well as taken on the $24 million in salary. Smith is coming off a down year, but he’s just two seasons away from getting down-ballot NL MVP votes in a shortened year. He’s no scrub.

So, is Hosmer as valuable as Smith? The Mets seemed to think so at one point, but quickly reversed course given the salary thrown in. Paddack is an intriguing young pitcher when healthy, and given the injury to Jacob deGrom, would’ve help the Mets fill out their rotation.

The Mets resisted the urge to increased their payroll beyond $300 million. Incurring such a penalty would’ve been a substantial financial hit.