By Anthony Cardone

The New York Mets kicked off the offseason with a blockbuster deal with the Seattle Mariners. It was a stunning move by the Mets, who many thought may be sellers this offseason; it turns out, they are going to be buyers.

The Mets received closer Edwin Diaz and former New York Yankee Robinson Cano, while sending outfielder Jay Bruce, relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak and three minor leaguers—Jared Kelenic, Justin Dunn and Gerson Bautista—to the Mariners.

Getting Cano fills a big gap in the middle of the order for the Mets. They were missing a big bat with the injury to Yoenis Cespedes and struggled to fill it. Cano can fill in at second base, or they can use him at first base, which for now seems much more likely. Jeff McNeil, their current second baseman, had such a great run down the stretch of the season last year, and they do not currently have a great option at first.

After missing months to a suspension for PEDs last year, Cano now goes into a hitters’ ballpark and a city he knows very well from his time in the Bronx.

The other piece of the deal for the Mets is closer Edwin Diaz. He had one of the greatest seasons among closers last year, racking up 57 saves to lead the majors. Diaz will be filling in a spot for the Mets that they struggled with all of last season after trading Jeurys Familia to Oakland. With a high-powered fastball and great slider, Diaz should definitely be able to replicate the success he had last year (as long as the Mets’ starting rotation is healthy and gives him leads).

Now for the pieces they gave away: Jay Bruce and Anthony Swarzak were the only two to play a majority of the season in the majors last year, though both had major injuries sideline them. Bruce did not produce at all after signing a three-year contract to return to the Mets after the team traded him to Cleveland at the 2017 trade deadline.

Swarzak also did not perform up to his level thanks to injuries as well and was far from his success with the Rockies in 2017.

The three minor leaguers have a lot of potential. Bautista is the only one of the three to make his debut in the majors, which he did in 2018. A 95-plus miles per hour fastball was probably the thing that caught Mariners general manager Jerry DiPoto’s eye. Kelenic is an outfielder with a great, Gold Glove-type physique. Justin Dunn is a pitcher who has had ups and downs in the minors, but has a high pedigree. The latter two were both first round selections in the past two years.

So where do the Mets go from here? They definitely want to win now and they reportedly have their eyes on Corey Kluber and relievers like Andrew Miller and other pitchers to help their bullpen.

The Mets are going to be a very interesting team heading into the spring of 2019.