Mets Sell Away
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The Failure
The New York Mets came into this season with World Series aspirations and the highest payroll in American sports history, move ahead to August, and the Mets have a complete sell-off, trading Max Scherzer, Mark Canha, Justin Verlander, and a few more. The Mets flipped the switch and it may have been for good reason the Mets have shown no sense of consistency and can’t seem to get it all going at once, so moving on and retooling their franchise seemed like the right answer with a great core of Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Kodai Senga and a returning Edwin Diaz. Dominic Leone got the Mets back the Angels #9 prospect Jeremian Jackson, trading outfielder Tommy Pham for 17-year-old SS Jeremy Rodriguez, Mark Canha was also moved for pitcher Justin Jarvis these moves were just the tip of the iceberg for what the Mets were looking to do ahead of the deadline to help build a recouped farm system.
Photo by Roberto Carlo
Max Scherzer Trade
The Mets traded Max Scherzer for Shortstop Luisangel Acuña, younger brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. Through 84 games, he’s batted .315/.377/.453 adding on 42 stolen bases to go with his stellar bat. The expected arrival of Acuña is next season which most likely means he would have to change positions which is ok because he can also play 2nd base. It’s hard to knock this move, especially seeing that you get a top 50 prospect who becomes a top 5 prospect in the Mets organization for a pitcher who hasn’t been his best this year.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Verlander Trade
Verlander seemed to be on the move once the Max trade was announced, and we got that announcement that Justin is heading back to his old stomping grounds in Houston to return to the Astros and help them compete against Max and the Texas Rangers. The Mets received two minor league players, outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. Scouts are high on Gilbert’s speed and defense, and they believe how good he will be can be determined on his bat, which still needs improvement. Clifford has become a great propsect who looks to be a starter in the corner outfield if he continues to kill baseballs with his .271/.356/.547 stats with 16 homers. Another great move for a Mets team looking to retool and move past this era of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
Whats Next?
The Mets put themselves in a good spot in the short term there will be pain but as a long-term vision, these moves were a way to admit your wrongdoings and recoup on assets that the Mets didn’t have, such as a deeper farm system which now includes even more elite talent.
The Mets will still spend this offseason but look ahead to 2025 free agency as the year for the Mets to be back chasing the top free agents. Steve Cohen made this even better by paying down contracts to get better returns with the trades. This helped accelerate what could have been a years-long rebuild instead, got great talent, and can now look ahead to finishing this season and getting right back to work this winter.
