Mets in talks to acquire Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz from Mariners, sources say

The Mets and Mariners are engaged in talks about a potential blockbuster trade that would send star second baseman Robinson Cano, All-Star closer Edwin Diaz or both to Queens, sources said, but a deal was not close to completion as of Thursday night.

Among the names discussed as potentially heading to Seattle are second baseman Jeff McNeil and pitching prospect Justin Dunn, sources said. The talks are fluid, and any trade could expand to include more names — such as Jay Bruce, who is owed $29 million for the next two years and whom, a source said, the Mets are motivated to move. Bruce’s inclusion isn’t considered a deal-breaker for the Mets, however.

Multiple reports also linked outfielder Jarred Kelenic, the Mets’ first-round draft pick in 2018, and reliever Anthony Swarzak, who like Bruce would be a lower-level salary dump, to the Mariners. Swarzak is due $7 million in 2019.

If the teams consummated a trade along these lines, money would be a significant piece of the puzzle. Among the most prominent unanswered questions: How much of Cano’s contract would Seattle pay?

Cano, 36, is coming off a season in which he fractured his right hand and served an 80-game PED suspension. He is owed $120 million for the next five years, the back half of one of the largest contracts in baseball history. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, in his previous career as a player agent, negotiated Cano’s 10-year, $240-million deal with the Mariners after the 2013 season.

With his 2018 cut in half, Cano, who has a no-trade clause, hit .303 with a .374 on-base percentage, a .471 slugging percentage, 10 homers and 50 RBIs. That included a .317/.363/.497 slash line after returning from the suspension.

The Mariners, embarking on a rebuild that already has featured trades of lefthander James Paxton to the Yankees and catcher Mike Zunino to the Rays, are looking to dump Cano’s contract, so much so that they are willing to pay it down and perhaps include Diaz in the trade, according to multiple reports.

For the Mets, who need back-end bullpen arms and plan to add multiple relievers this offseason, Diaz arguably would be a bigger addition baseball-wise than Cano, who is the more recognizable name, particularly in New York, where he played for the Yankees from 2005-13.

Diaz, 24, led the majors with 57 saves in 2018, finishing eighth in AL Cy Young Award voting. With a fastball that regularly touches 100 mph, he had the best ERA (1.96) and WHIP (0.79) of his three major-league seasons. Significantly, Diaz is under team control for four more seasons.

In line with Van Wagenen’s promises to explore all avenues to improve the Mets, they are looking at the trade market to improve their beleaguered bullpen. The free-agent market also is filled with brand-name relievers: Craig Kimbrel, Adam Ottavino, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Jeurys Familia, David Robertson and others.

Van Wagenen said this month that McNeil is “penciled in” as the Mets’ starting second baseman after a breakout 2018 in which he dominated the upper minors and had a .329/.381/.471 slash line in 63 major-league games.

Dunn, a Freeport native, reached Double-A Binghamton in 2018, his age-22 season. He had a 4.22 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 15 starts for the Rumble Ponies after posting better numbers with high Class A St. Lucie.

Mets add familiar face. The Mets signed infielder Dilson Herrera, once one of their top prospects, to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training. In August 2016, he was the primary piece the Mets sent to Cincinnati in a trade for Bruce. It took until this past season for Herrera to reach the majors again, and he had a .184/.268/.414 slash line in 53 games.

With David Lennon and Gregg Sarra