The Mets need to abandon the absurd idea of trading for Reds closer Alexis Diaz

Attention New York Mets fans, media, and anyone else who's willing to listen: This heartwarming, storybook-type of trade scenario that only exists in fantasyland land along with elves, wizards, and unicorns is not happening.

Once again, the trade rumblings and rumors of a potential deal between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets has gained attention and it needs to be extinguished like fireworks that are set off on July 5th.

The New York Post is citing a source that claims the Mets scouts have been tracking Reds closer Alexis Diaz as a potential trade target. Can the obsession over reuniting Edwin Diaz with his younger brother just stop already?

New York Mets need to abandon the absurd idea of trading for Reds closer Alexis Diaz.

Look, I get it. Edwin Diaz, perhaps the best closer in baseball, suffered a terrible injury during the World Baseball Classic and the New York Mets bullpen is suffering because of it.

The Mets bullpen, which ranks 11th in the league in ERA (4.32) and strikeouts (228), stinks. The Cincinnati Reds relief corps, which ranks 4th in the league in both categories, has actually performed rather well in 2023, and a lot of the credit for that success goes to the team's closer Alexis Diaz.

Diaz, who's in just his second major league season, is 14-for-14 in save opportunities this season and has 46 punch outs in less than 25 innings of work while also maintaining 1.48 ERA and 0.822 WHIP. Diaz is well on his way to an All-Star appearance in 2023 and should be in the conversation as one of the best closers in the game.

But in case the Mets fans and New York media haven't been paying attention, the Cincinnati Reds are actually taking steps to be competitive this season. The club has called up eight prospects already, including Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott, and Matt McLain.

The Reds, though they still possess a losing record (29-34) are only five games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central Division and are only one game behind the Mets in the chase for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Furthermore, New York may want to look to fix its broken offense before making adjustments to its relief corps. The Mets, despite having roughly $350-million tied up in their payroll and a lineup that features that Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo, have only scored 277 runs this season. That's 13 fewer runs than the Reds have scored this season.

Alexis Diaz is under team control for another four seasons after 2023 and won't hit his arbitration window until after next season. If the New York Mets wanted Diaz so bad, they should have met theReds exorbitant asking price last summer.

The Cincinnati Reds have entered the chat sooner than most fans and baseball pundits expected. At this point, the Reds are more likely to be buyers at this year's trade deadline than they are sellers. Give it up, Mets fans. It's not happening!