The New York Mets are still trying to land outfielder Juan Soto via free agency. However, president of baseball operations David Stearns has a lot of work to do on his starting rotation. Could Luisangel Acuña help the Mets land ace Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox?

Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana were key contributors to New York’s 2024 rotation, but they’re all free agents. Stearns has begun rebuilding his staff by signing Frankie Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal. There are more holes to fill and the Mets have been linked to Crochet as a potential trade destination.

Acuña’s performance in Triple-A during 2024 was lackluster, consisting of a .654 OPS in 587 plate appearances. He turned things around after a late-season call-up to the big leagues, hitting .308/.325/.641 in 40 trips to the plate. That solid play has continued in the Venezuelan Winter League. The 22-year-old middle infielder is slashing .367/.443/.483 with nine RBI, 16 runs scored and 13 steals in 20 games.

This is encouraging for the Mets to see, but is it simply increasing his potential value in an offseason trade? Former Mets general manager Steve Phillips thinks that is a possible scenario, which he discussed on Monday’s MLB Network Hot Stove show.

“So, I love when guys play great in winter ball,” Phillips said. “One, because it means they could be good players in the future. Two, it means they may be trade chips. For the Mets, you’ve got Lindor locked up for the long term. You’ve got (Jeff) McNeil at least signed for a period of time. There’s some flexibility in what you might do at second base.

“If Garrett Crochet and the White Sox want Luisangel Acuña in a deal, well, he’s put up good numbers. I love it when players perform well in winter ball, especially young guys putting up numbers. You know he played good defense in the major leagues, but what about that offense? Maybe he could be a trade chip for the Mets. So, this is a good sign for the Mets, whether they keep him or whether they trade him.”

Landing Crochet would give the Mets an extremely affordable top-tier starter. Spotrac pegs his market value for a long-term contract at six years and $130 million. However, he’s still under team control via arbitration through 2026 and is estimated to earn just $2.9 million next season.