Responding to a Miami Marlins mock trade with the New York Mets

Superstar Juan Soto's historic contract with the New York Mets will have an impact on the Miami Marlins in several ways. However, our friends at Fansided's sister site, Rising Apple, recently speculated that the Marlins and Mets could impact both NL East clubs even more directly.

Rising Apple identified the Marlins as an ideal trade partner, mentioning names like Jesus Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, Jake Burger, and a slew of relievers (Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender, Declan Cronin, and Calvin Faucher).

Are the Marlins and Mets indeed good trade partners? And, if so, what could a deal look like?

The Mets do have a few intriguing options in a deal involving Luzardo. Miami would be wise to set their sights on a top-100 prospect as a baseline target. It is safe to assume that New York prospects Brandon Sproat (MLB.com's #40 overall prospect) and Jett Williams (#52) would be off the table.

However, perhaps the Fish could negotiate a deal centered around outfielder Drew Gilbert. Alternatively, young pros like Brett Baty (who has reportedly drawn trade interest this offseason) Luisangel Acuna, or Ronny Mauricio would also be interesting options.

Any from this group would be a sensible starting point from the Marlins' perspective. New York assuredly has their preference between these four options. But, if any could be made available, it could make sense on the Mets' side as well.

As far as the quartet of Miami relievers is concerned, any could likely be had for relatively minimal prospect capital. Perhaps a falling prospect like Kevin Parada or a mid-level option like Nate Dohm could be options?

Lastly, we have Jake Burger. Interestingly, Miami retained their slugging infielder during last season's deadline fire sale. The lack of trade speculation or reported offers seems to indicate that Miami prefers to retain its premier power hitter.

We know that Miami team President Peter Bendix is well-versed in the art of the trade. He would be wise to package several of these options together with the target of two of Mauricio, Acuna, Baty, or Gilbert.

Ultimately, the deal would come down to how committed the Mets are to their four aforementioned prospects. If they are genuinely sold on each, a deal would be difficult to pull off. However, if at least one could be placed on the trade block, the Mets and Marlins could indeed be an ideal pairing for an inter-NL-East trade.