Out of contention and with coveted players to dangle, the Mets seem determined to be active ahead of Wednesday's trade deadline.
So naturally they made their first big move Sunday and ... were buyers?
The Mets snagged the first of a handful of high-profile starting pitchers expected to be dealt in the coming days -- including a couple on their own team -- when they acquired Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson. The trade was made official Sunday evening.
It's an interesting move for the Mets for a couple reasons. The first is, as mentioned, the team has also been rumored and is expected to deal at least one of Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler before Wednesday's deadline. Their contract situations don't mirror Stroman's -- he's under team control through the 2020 season, while Syndergaard is arbitration-eligible until 2021 and Wheeler is a free agent after this season -- but the point remains. This isn't a move for this year.
And if it's a move for next year, why turn around and deal Thor? He's only making $6 million this season, and while two years of arbitration will inflate that number, it won't be outlandish -- and if it is, it means he's provided an outlandish amount of value to your team in the meantime.
While the merits of the deal can be debated, what's not in question is the fact that the Mets acquired a talented pitcher in Stroman. The first-time All-Star is trending toward his best year as a major leaguer, posting a 2.96 ERA and 1.23 WHIP through 21 starts.
"Marcus is a dynamic talent who will bring tremendous passion to our team and energy our fans will truly appreciate,” Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen . “As a Long Island native, we believe that Marcus will thrive playing in New York."
For the Jays, the return is a mix of both quantity and quality without overwhelming in either. Kay is widely viewed as the better prospect of the two, a 2016 first-round pick of the Mets who was ranked as the team's fourth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline. Kay owns a 3.13 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 96/34 K/BB ratio over 97 2/3 innings between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season.
Woods-Richardson was a 2018 second-round pick of the Mets who was on the Jays' radar even then, suggesting they view him higher than others they might have targeted from the Mets organization. The 18-year-old has made 20 starts at Class-A Columbia this season, registering a 4.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 97/17 K/BB ratio.
It will be hard to truly judge this trade before Wednesday and, likely, before the end of the 2020 season. For now, though, we're left to do what we always do when it comes to the Mets -- wondering what they're doing.
Get To Know Bo
Another trade on Sunday has one of the game's brightest young prospects on the move to Toronto as well -- by way of promotion, not acquisition, though.The Jays dealt infielder Eric Sogard to the Rays in exchange for two players to be named later, and the move opened a spot at the major league level for top prospect Bo Bichette. Bichette was removed from his Triple-A Buffalo game Sunday and will likely be active for the team's series opener against the Royals on Monday.
Bichette, the son of former major league bopper Dante Bichette, was a consensus top-15 prospect in all of baseball heading into the season and has put together a solid year in the minors, hitting .288/.355/.485 with eight homers and 16 steals in 60 games between High-A and Triple-A. He missed roughly six weeks with a fractured left hand earlier in the year.
Like his dad, Bichette will earn his living with his bat. He's expected to hit for both average and power at the highest level, and as evidenced by his 73 career stolen bases in the minors, the 21-year-old can also run a bit.
The promotion is the latest for the club in what's been an exciting, if also frustrating, year to be a Jays fan. Fellow face of the franchise's rebuild Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was called up at the end of April and Cavan Biggio, another highly regarded prospect, has been with the club since late May as well.
As with his peers, Bichette may encounter some growing pains as he gets accustomed to the major league game. A hair behind Guerrero and a head above Biggio with regards to expected production, Bichette will also provide many exciting moments over the season's final two months and beyond.
He's worth adding in all formats. Enjoy the ride.
Snakes Shake Up Bullpen
Greg Holland's continued struggles has manager Torey Luvollo considering going Dutch (I'm so sorry) with his bullpen usage moving forward.Holland suffered another blown save Friday, his third this month, when he allowed two runs while getting one out in a loss to the Marlins. Since the start of July he's seen his ERA inflate from 2.33 to 3.51.
“I think in this case we’re going to keep it as fluid as possible until somebody ... (takes) control of the situation,” Lovullo said Sunday. “I don’t want to put too much on anybody right now. I think things are going well for several guys and I want to just keep it that way.”
Non-Holland options for the ninth inning include Yoan Lopez, Yoshihisa Hirano and Archie Bradley, as well as southpaw Andrew Chafin for matchup-specific situations. None of the four has more than one save this year.
Lopez has arguably been the team's best reliever for much of the year, but the more interesting name is Bradley, a popular closer candidate among fans and fantasy players for years who has been unable to grab hold of the job. He owns a 4.30 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 46 innings of work overall, but he's reeled off nine straight scoreless appearances and has 64 strikeouts in those 46 innings.
The smart money, though, may be on Hirano. The right-hander has also pitched very well this year -- his 3.12 FIP is actually a tad lower than Bradley's 3.18 FIP -- and he's allowed a run in just one of his last 14 appearances. With Bradley providing value as a low-leverage option who can also go multiple innings if needed, and with Lopez coming off a couple shaky outings, the 35-year-old Hirano feels like the most likely candidate to be given the opportunity, and to run with it.
Act accordingly.
National League Quick Hits: Jean Segura was removed from Sunday's game against the Braves with a bruised right shin. That's much more promising news than the initial speculation, which was a right knee injury. Segura should be considered day-to-day and should be ready to return to the Phillies' lineup early in the week. ... Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs, a career-high seven RBI and four runs scored to lead the Cubs to an 11-4 victory on Sunday. The 26-year-old’s prodigious power production established a lofty realistic fantasy floor moving forward. However, he needs to improve upon his rather pedestrian .228/.317/.484 triple-slash line this season if he’s ever going to blossom into the four-category fantasy superstar fantasy owners envisioned earlier in his career. Even if he fails live up to those potentially unrealistic expectations, he’s always going to be worthy of a roster spot in standard mixed leagues. ... Reds activated Alex Wood from the 60-day injured list. Wood missed the first four months of the season with a nagging back issue. In Sunday's season debut against the Rockies, the southpaw allowed two runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings. ... X-rays on Jeff McNeil's right shin came back negative. McNeil had to leave Sunday's game after being hit by a pitch, but he's escaped with merely a bruise. The Mets are off Monday and it's possible McNeil will be ready to play by Tuesday ... Robbie Ray matched a season-high with 11 strikeouts over six innings in a loss to the Marlins on Sunday. The mercurial 27-year-old southpaw owns a 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 173/58 K/BB ratio across 129 innings of work. He’s been at the epicenter of rampant trade speculation in recent days, and it’s possible this was his final start in a Diamondbacks uniform. If he remains in Arizona, he’ll take on the Nationals at home in his next start on Saturday. ... J.T. Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday's 9-4 win over the Braves. The backstop has been swinging a hot stick of late, crunching three home runs in his last four games, including dingers in each of the last two contests. For the campaign as a whole, Realmuto is slashing .267/.317/.446 with 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 359 at-bats.
American League Quick Hits: Albert Pujols hit a two-run home run, his 650th of his career, in Sunday's win over the Orioles. Pujols became just the sixth player in MLB history to reach the 650-homer plateau, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez and Willie Mays with his two-run blast in the sixth inning. He's got a shot at passing Mays' 660 homers with a strong finish this year, needing 11 over the course of the next two months after hitting 17 through Sunday. ... Jose Ramirez went deep for the fourth consecutive game, slugging a solo homer in the Indians’ loss to the Royals on Sunday. Ramirez took Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy deep to right field in the eighth inning and homered in every game of the four-game series against Kansas City. The 26-year-old infielder is now up to 14 round-trippers on the season and appears to have re-discovered the line-drive swing that made him a fantasy superstar over the last few years. He’s hitting a surreal .344 (32-for-93) with 21 runs scored, nine home runs, 25 RBI and four stolen bases in 22 games since July 2. Despite the loss in this contest, the Indians have emerged victorious in 12 of their 17 games since the All-Star break and will be buying, rather than selling, at the trade deadline next week. ... Tommy Pham was removed from Sunday's game against the Blue Jays with a sprained right hand. The good news, is that the X-rays didn't reveal any structural damage and he's only dealing with a minor sprain. What remains unclear though is how much time he may miss and whether or not a trip to the injured list may be necessary. ... Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that Domingo Santana has draw some interest from the Indians and Rays, among other teams. Santana is more of a designated hitter than an outfielder and that's even more of the case right now as he deals with a sore elbow. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is making $1.95 million this season and is under team control through 2021. ... Nicholas Castellanos was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to abdominal tightness. The Tigers are calling him day-to-day for the time being. Still, the timing of the injury isn't great, as Castellanos is a good bet to be traded prior to Wednesday's deadline if he's healthy. ... White Sox activated OF Eloy Jimenez from the 10-day injured list. Jimenez resumed taking batting practice a couple days ago and it apparently went so well that the team decided to activate him without sending him out on a rehab assignment first. The rookie outfielder was sidelined for the last week and a half with a nerve issue in his right elbow. He went hitless in three at-bats in his return Sunday. ... Carlos Correa (elbow) returned to the Astros' lineup Sunday. Correa was lifted from Saturday's game after being spiked in the right elbow briefly caused some numbness in his fingers, but he's fine. He did, however, go hitless in five at-bats in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. ... Yankees placed LHP CC Sabathia on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation. It's the second time he's been on the IL with his chronic knee issue, as it's just something Sabathia has to manage at this point. He figures to be back when his 10 days are up or close to it. ... Kevin Kiermaier (thumb) is on track to be activated from the injured list when first eligible on Wednesday. Kiermaier got through his first rehab game with High-A Charlotte on Saturday with no issues and played for them again Sunday. As long as he comes out of that with no setback, it looks like the speedy outfielder will return on Wednesday. Kiermaier has been on the shelf with a sprained left thumb. ... Matt Thaiss hit a pair of home runs, including a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, to lead the Angels to a 5-4 win over the Orioles on Sunday. The homers doubled his total for the year, giving him four in 12 games since being promoted in early July. Despite the power output, he's hit just .189/.268/.541 in 37 at-bats through Sunday. ... in a move concurrent with the Sogard acquisition, the Indians acquired RHP Hunter Wood and 3B Christian Arroyo from the Rays for OF Ruben Cardenas and international bonus pool money. Wood has pitched extremely well out of the Rays' bullpen this season, registering a 2.48 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 24/7 K/BB ratio across 29 innings. He should provide the Tribe with a nice boost in the bullpen down the stretch as they try to overcome the Twins to secure the American League Central crown.
Good Bye Marcus, we wish you well.
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