☀️ Good Morning:
After going 34-17 leading up to the trade deadline, David Stearns decided to turn the volume nob from 6 to 6.5, keeping the party going, but avoiding the potential to really crank things up for the 2024 season at the cost of a prospect hangover.
While some teams were aggressive, overall the market ended up being a bit restrained. None of Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet or Blake Snell were traded. For the first time in at least a decade, none of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects changed hands.
For the Mets, last trade deadline was about trading star players and absorbing salary to net better prospects; this deadline was about identifying undervalued pieces that either no longer fit with their current team or who snuck under the radar with late starts to their seasons.
Whichever way we got here, under two different GMs, the Mets have effectively used the last two deadlines to bolster their prospect ranks and solidify the edges of their roster for a playoff run.
FanGraphs gave the Mets a 51.6% chance of making the playoffs on Monday; they give them a 54.3% chance today, both numbers down from the 59.9% chance they had when Kodai Senga temporarily returned to the rotation on Friday.
For all of the focus on what the Mets added, or could have added, the players right in front of us continue to win.
After shutting out the Twins on Tuesday — the club’s third shutout in the past 16 games — the Mets are 17–5 in their last 22 played at Citi Field. Sean Manaea followed Jose Quintana in delivering a masterful performance with the most swing and misses by a Mets starter this season (22).
Believe it or not, since June 1, only six rotations have a lower ERA than the rag-tag group that makes up the Mets’ rotation. That number shrinks to three teams since the beginning of July.
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📝 On the margins
Stearns didn’t pull off a blockbuster deal that makes for a NY Post headline, but he methodically rebuilt a troubled bullpen, acquiring four new pieces in the past week, while adding depth to his rotation and a left-handed bat for the outfield. He did so without forfeiting any prospect of significance, and gained multiple players with team control for the future.
“I think there was some pretty aggressive pricing this year,” Mets president David Stearns said on Tuesday after working the deadline. “But we certainly anticipated that going into this thing. We have a situation with a lot of teams trying to add and teams for various reasons that were reluctant to sell. That’s a pretty clear dynamic that is going to yield the type of deadline that we had.”
Additions:
RHP STARTER Paul Blackburn
RHP RELIEVER Phil Maton
RHP RELIEVER Ryne Stanek
RHP RELIEVER Huascar Brazobán
RHP RELIEVER Tyler Zuber
LHH OUTFIELDER Jesse Winker
Besides Winker, many Mets fans have probably never heard of the names on that list prior to the past few days. Now those players join a squad trying to make late-season magic and bring the Amazins their first playoff series win since 2015.
Before we discuss the details of each trade from yesterday, I wanted to take a big-picture look at the bullpen. Yeah, it’s a lot different than it was on Opening Day.
We will see how the front office values Tyler Zuber, who needs to stay in the majors to preserve a minor-league option year, but at least six new faces will make up the ‘pen during the stretch run, including in-house success stories, such as Dedniel Núñez and José Buttó.
We saw Carlos Mendoza deploy Díaz for a four-out save last night. He remains the key to the club’s success in holding down leads. The bridge to get to him has been reconstructed.
You can never count on health, but if somehow everyone gets healthy at the same time, it will be interesting to see how loyal the front office remains to Adam Ottavino, who would seem to be an odd man out with the names listed above, along with Sean Reid-Foley and Reed Garrett in the fold. New York will gain an extra pitcher to work with on September 1, so perhaps they take advantage of optionable relievers until then.
It’s also notable none of the current relievers mentioned above are left-handed. Could Danny Young or Matt Gage or Alex Young earn a role down the stretch?
🍎 TRADE: Mets acquire RHP Paul Blackburn for RHP Kade Morris
It’s not the splash many Mets fans wanted, but David Stearns found another starter in Paul Blackburn.
“He’s an incredibly consistent pitcher who fills the strike zone and has an interesting approach to what he does,” Stearns said. “He is going to fit into our rotation very nicely.”
Contract: Blackburn remains arbitration eligible through the 2025 season, giving the Mets 1.5 years of team control. He is making $3.45 million this season.
What did they give up? Kade Morris was a third-round pick in last year’s draft. FanGraphs recently ranked him 26th among Mets prospects. The 22-year-old right-hander was 4–3 with a 3.43 ERA with Brooklyn this season. He has a plus curveball and could crack a major-league roster in 2026 if he continues his progression through the minors.
What this means: Depth and team control. Blackburn is anything but sexy. He doesn’t have great stuff, relying on a deep pitch mix to make up for a pedestrian 92-mph fastball. He survives on command and keeping the ball on the ground as much as possible.
It’s debatable whether he is an upgrade over the likes of David Peterson or Tylor Megill, but arguments could be made. He at least offers the potential of an upgrade and gives the team a major-league starter signed through next season with most of the rotation due to come off the books.
Most importantly, Blackburn keeps José Buttó in the bullpen.
Another way to look at it: Stearns essentially pulled the clock back on Adrian Houser, acquiring similar talent but with an added year of team control.
Road to recovery: Blackburn spent 2.5 months on the IL with a stress reaction in his right foot, returning to the mound last Friday to prove he is healthy enough to pitch again. His return was far from encouraging: he allowed four earned runs on two homers, but he completed five innings.
Offspeed: The pitch that excites me the most from Blackburn’s repertoire is his changeup. He throws it almost exclusively to left-handed hitters, earning a 31.8% whiff rate.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have quite the same out pitch against righties. His slider gets whiffs, but hitters don’t swing at it nearly as often as lefties do against his changeup. His slider looks a bit like a curveball with a slow, bending action. Perhaps this is an area where the coaching staff can work with him for improvement.
Ballpark factor: Blackburn benefited from the spacious confines of Oakland Coliseum with a 1.38 ERA over 26 innings at home, versus 7.56 ERA in 25 road innings. Those splits followed a similar trend over a larger sample in 2023 (3.57 ERA at home / 5.33 ERA away). Citi Field doesn’t offer any home park advantage over Oakland, but it keeps the potential for a ballpark advantage.
🍎 TRADE: Mets acquire RHP Huascar Brazobán for SS Wilfredo Lara
Focused on improving the current roster with an eye towards the future, Stearns pulled off a last-minute deal to acquire right-hander Huascar Brazobán from the Marlins for utility prospect Wilfredo Lara.
Contract: The 34-year-old took his time climbing to the majors after signing as an international free agent with the Rockies in 2011. His long and winding journey pays off for the Mets who gain a high-leverage arm under team control until 2029, and who still has three minor-league options remaining.
What did they give up? Lara is another low-grade prospect who has been playing well in Brooklyn with a 124 wRC+ during the month of July, but far from the type of prospect you would expect to lose to gain a talent like Brazobán.
What this means: When you look at Brazobán’s numbers this season — 2.93 ERA, 18.4% K-BB rate, 1.01 WHIP — it’s easy to get excited. Brazobán was likely going to take Tanner Scott’s role as closer if he had stayed in Miami. He got a taste of the playoffs last year in Miami. He is a high-leverage candidate.
Since serving up five runs in a disastrous outing in late June, Brazobán has been nearly flawless in his past 10 outings, allowing no earned runs, while striking out 19 and walking only two.
He has found added success relying more on his cutter, which he locates lower than most in the strike zone, helping him induce soft contact and earn an impressive 36.1% whiff rate on the usual contact-based pitch.
He offsets that with a changeup that he throws to both left-handed and right-handed hitters. He gets great depth on this pitch and is rewarded with a 40.7% whiff rate.
Brazobán will fit in with a bullpen that has been Helter-Skelter this season. Hidden beneath his impressive numbers, he has blown three games this year (hopefully, he got all of those out of the way). While he has worked in the seventh and eighth innings, he hasn’t seen a ton of tight games with Miami since getting a late start to the season due to visa issues. He will receive plenty of opportunity to prove himself in New York.
🍎 TRADE: Mets acquire RHP Tyler Zuber for RHP Paul Gervase
David Stearns is keeping a close eye on the Long Island Ducks. After signing Jackie Bradley Jr. following a stint there, Stearns acquired reliever Tyler Zuber from the Rays for minor leaguer Paul Gervase.
Who for who? Yeah, exactly. This is a classic David Stearns move, but one that could pay dividends.
Zuber pitched for the Ducks before signing with the Rays back in May. He seems like a great fit for a Mets roster that includes several veteran players trying to prove they still belong. The 29-year-old battled through shoulder injuries in 2020 and 2021, and missed the entire 2022 season, returning to the major leagues for the first time since 2021 last week, appearing in two games, allowing one run in 3.1 innings of work.
Zuber told a local Tampa reporter he found his love of the game again in Long Island, before the Rays helped him simplify things by explaining things in “redneck terms.”
After signing with the Rays, he continued his success in Triple-A, showcasing a new repertoire that features a 95-mph fastball, sweeper and cutter. The early Stuff+ readings like both his fastball and sweeper. He’s also deceptive with his delivery and arm angle.
Zuber would give Mendoza another multi-inning option, having worked more than one inning in both of his major-league appearances, as well as four his last seven minor-league outings. He only has 2.090 years of service, but could lose his final minor-league option year if he spends 13 more days in the minors this season.
We will see how high the front office is on Zuber in the early going. He is probably a depth option if everyone else is healthy.
What did they give up? Gervase isn’t a top prospect, but he isn’t nothing either. The 24-year-old has caught the eye of many with an insane strikeout rate buoyed by a unique attack approach. However, command and home run issues have plagued him.
As Ben Yoel pointed out on X, Stearns traded two 6-foot-9 pitchers — Tyler Stuart and Gervase — in a matter of days.
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📝 ROSTER MOVES: The Mets designated right-hander Ty Adcock for assignment to make room for Zuber. They designated catcher Logan Porter to make room for Brazoban.
As expected, Shintaro Fujinami and the remainder of his $3.35 million salary was outrighted to the minor leagues after clearing waivers.
In an under-the-radar move, the Mets traded Josh Walker to the Pirates for left-handed minor leaguer Nicolas Carreno.
🤕 RECOVERING: Francisco Álvarez missed his second straight game with a shoulder issue. He is “feeling better” so should return soon. Luis Torrens went 0-for-3 in his place last night.
🗓️ UP NEXT: A quick turnaround. The Mets will go for the sweep against Minnesota at 1:10 pm today with Luis Severino (7–3, 3.58) facing off against right-hander Pablo López (9–7, 4.73).
Stearns committed to keeping José Buttó in the bullpen for now. He didn’t commit to whether the team will deploy a six-man rotation to try to save some innings on the arms of Manaea, Severino and Quintana.
The Mets will have to make a few roster moves to fit their new additions on the Active Roster. We will see if they go with a six-man rotation, or if Tylor Megill is the odd man out for Blackburn. Expect Matt Gage and/or Alex Young to be optioned in the bullpen.
🕷️ Find headlines for all of your favorite teams at SportSpyder, the number one source for sports news links.
◾️ Old friend Tommy Pham hit a grand slam in his first game with the Cardinals.
◾️ JD Davis was traded, until he wasn’t. Jon Heyman mistakingly tweeted the former Met had been traded to the Rays, before correcting himself.
◾️ After the Yankees turned down a trade for Jack Flaherty due to concerns over his medicals, the Dodgers swooped in for the Burbank native.
◾️ Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit two home runs for the second consecutive night to help the Yanks defeat the Phillies 7–6 in extra innings.
◾️ Catch up on all of the Trade Deadline deals here.
🔗 The Mets’ deadline was disappointing. Why that’s perfectly OK, by Tim Britton, The Athletic ($): “It’s OK to acknowledge this was something of a letdown. For the next two months, the ideal role for Blackburn is pitching five innings and keeping the team in the game, for Brazobán, it’s pitching a couple innings if Blackburn doesn’t do that and for Zuber, it’s to pitch a couple innings if Brazobán or someone else is hurt. For October, the ideal role for all three is spectating.”
🔗 Mets’ trade deadline moves not sexy but they filled some needs, by Mike Puma, NY Post: “The influx of arms will provide options for manager Carlos Mendoza as he looks to navigate injuries that have walloped the rotation and bullpen.”
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I thought this was a good deadline. The Athletic put it very well, you're allowed to feel disappointed but also happy about the result of it. Stearns bolstering our bullpen -- both via acquisitions and getting off of bad contracts/players quickly to give young guys a chance -- has been very impressive. I am not sure I'd say its a strength of ours yet, but we definitely have the types of guys you want pitching in October. It's really too bad Raley got hurt.
I would suggest you look at Adam Ottavino's advanced stats. They profile very much like someone Stearns would ironically target: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/adam-ottavino-493603?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb
His xERA is only 3, xBA is .200, high strike out rate and low exit velocity. Also seems to add leadership in the dugout.
I think he's here to stay. Zuber acquisition only makes sense if he can be an option next year, so they will have to figure out how to keep him on the roster for two weeks in August.
In Stearns we trust!
We began the year not expecting much and now half way through, somehow we got much. I get the sense we have adults running the show and the trading deadline moves prove you can improve without mortgaging the future. I'm all in, just thrilled we have a season after all.