The Mets kept dealing Sunday night, sending reliever Huascar Brazobán to the White Sox in a move that stood out from their other deadline activity because he’s not anywhere close to free agency.
Chicago sent back minor-league right-handers Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin in the trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who was first to report it. It was the first deadline deal New York has made involving a player with multiple seasons of team control.
That’s what makes this one notable. Brazobán, 36, is under contract for three more years and won’t reach free agency until 2030, when he’d be in his age-40 season.
In other words, the Mets didn’t have to move him. They chose to.
The logic is different from the A.J. Minter trade, since Minter is set to become a free agent after this season.
The same goes for Brooks Raley, another veteran expected to be moved before Monday’s deadline. So if the Mets were willing to part with Brazobán, it suggests they really liked what the White Sox put on the table - or they’re concerned about how sustainable his numbers are.
Brazobán has been one of the more durable arms in New York’s bullpen this year, posting a 2.56 ERA across a team-high 46 appearances. Still, the Mets may have seen him as a pitcher who could come back to earth.
The return itself is light on name value, at least on paper. Davis was Chicago’s No. 18 prospect by The Athletic and No. 20 by Baseball America, while Franklin wasn’t ranked by either outlet.
Davis is the more interesting piece. He’s 6-foot-9, just 22 years old, and can reach 100 mph. The fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma State in last year’s draft has worked strictly as a starter in the minors so far, but his size and velocity make a bullpen future easy to picture.
This season, Davis has gone 0-5 with a 5.81 ERA in 18 games between High-A and Double-A. He’s also piled up 70 strikeouts in 62 innings. Since this is his first pro season, he’s still very much a work in progress.
Franklin, 27, was a 10th-round pick by the White Sox in 2023. He’s in his first full year at Triple-A and has a 4.37 ERA over 33 appearances, with all but one coming in relief.
Brazobán is the third move the Mets have made ahead of the deadline. They already shipped reliever A.J. Minter and sent starter Freddy Peralta to the Rays during Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Marlins at Citi Field.
With Raley, starter Clay Holmes, and outfielders Tyrone Taylor and Luis Robert Jr. also likely to be moved Monday, Brazobán’s departure opens the door to one more question: if New York was willing to trade a reliever with this much team control, could Luke Weaver be next? Weaver is under control through after next season.
In Other News...
Mets Deadline Catching Move Could Signal Something Bigger
A catching swap at the deadline gave the Mets a little more pitching depth when they dealt Ben Rortvedt to the Dodgers for right-hander Chayce McDermott. Rortvedt had only briefly been back in the Dodgers organization, but the move fit a familiar pattern for Los Angeles, which has been forced to patch together its catching group because of injuries to Will Smith and Dalton Rushing.
For New York, the deal is notable not just for the arm coming back, but for what it says about how the front office viewed the rest of the market. Rortvedts value to the Dodgers was rooted in his familiarity with the club and the stability he provided during last years injury-hit stretch, and moving him now suggests the Mets were willing to turn a useful depth piece into a return they felt better matched their needs down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Deadline Purge Is Already Hitting Familiar Names
The Mets' deadline reshuffling has already started to put a familiar feel to the churn, with the front office turning over pieces and bringing in prospect capital as the trade market heats up across the league. New York sent Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays and moved Huascar Brazobn to the Chicago White Sox, part of a broader stretch of deadline activity that saw clubs around baseball making their own swaps and roster changes before the clock runs out.
On the roster side, the Mets also made room by promoting Robert Stock and Bryce Conley while designating Kevin Herget and MJ Melendez for assignment. For a team trying to thread the needle between present depth and future value, these are the kinds of decisions that can reshape the bullpen and the organizational picture in a hurry, even if the final ripple from this purge is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]