The Mets’ deadline haul left David Stearns with one move that should buy him some real trust and another that did the opposite.
Monday was all about volume in Queens, with the Mets working through the market and taking the best offers they could find for multiple players. By the time they step on the field Tuesday, the roster could look very different, and more additions are still coming.
The clearest win came in the deal that sent Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor out. For a pair of rentals, the Mets landed Jefferson Rojas, a top 100 prospect who now becomes the organization’s new No. 1 prospect. After a day full of moves that had people scratching their heads, this one changed the mood fast.
Chicago’s decision to part with Rojas says plenty about how aggressively the Cubs are pushing for this year. They were willing to trade from the future to chase a World Series run, or at least take their shot against the Los Angeles Dodgers while trying.
For the Mets, the appeal was obvious: one big prospect instead of a scattershot return. That kind of balance was needed after the earlier trade that brought in three so-so, maybe they work prospects for Freddy Peralta.
It also gave the Mets a chance to recover some of what they sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for him in the offseason. If Rojas can at least match what the club believed Jett Williams might become, the deal starts to look enormous.
But not every move landed the same way.
Trading Huascar Brazoban and Luke Weaver stirred up plenty of frustration because the Mets didn’t really have to move both controllable relievers. Both could have stayed. Instead, Brazoban went to the Chicago White Sox and Weaver was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the two moves bringing back a combined three prospects.
Brazoban’s return included one ranked prospect and one unranked player, a 27-year-old. Weaver brought back the Mets’ second-best prospect from the deadline, Sammy Starura.
The issue wasn’t that the Mets got Starura. The issue was that fans wanted more.
Stafura+ would have been the appealing move to make.
Selling off one reliever might have been understandable. Moving both hit the bullpen depth hard. For the rest of the year, the Mets are looking at open tryouts in that group, with Daniel Duarte and Bryce Conley sitting right behind Devin Williams on the depth chart.
And as always with a deadline like this, the real judgment comes later. Buyers find out right away what they got.
Sellers have to wait. The full answer to the 2023 deadline is still unfolding, and Ryan Clifford is still out there somewhere.
For now, the Mets’ farm system looks a lot different than it did yesterday, and so does the big-league roster. Some of the newcomers could be in the mix immediately or not long after. As Howie Rose put it, Meet the Mets has a whole new meaning.
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