Of the Mets’ trade-deadline moves, the one that feels like it needs the fastest return is the deal that sent Huascar Brazoban to the Chicago White Sox.
There’s room to be patient with some of the other pieces the Mets picked up. Sammy Stafura can sit on the shelf for a while, unless he becomes trade bait first.
Jefferson Rojas deserves the usual patience that comes with a higher-profile prospect. And even in the Freddy Peralta deal, where the Mets brought in three prospects, it’s fair to assume only one of them will probably turn into much.
As a rental shipped out to the Tampa Bay Rays, that at least gives the Mets a quality-and-quantity argument.
Brazoban is different. The Mets could have had a perfectly reasonable case for keeping a cheap, controllable arm they used as a Swiss Army knife, especially with a chance he could still be around for the 2027 Mets and beyond. Instead, they moved him, and the two prospects they got back need to start looking like a worthwhile return before long if the decision is going to make sense.
The more immediate name to watch is Zach Franklin. He’s already 27, and his next birthday comes in October, so he’s not exactly a long-term lottery ticket.
He’s also the more advanced of the two, but he comes with his own pressure point: he’s Rule 5 eligible this winter. Whether the MLB draft actually happens or not because of the expiring CBA, the clock is already ticking on whether Franklin can be a useful big leaguer.
Gabe Davis has a steeper climb. He hasn’t had a good year in Double-A, carrying an 8.31 ERA in 10 Double-A starts before the trade. His first Binghamton outing went for 3 runs in 3 innings, which doesn’t exactly announce a fast track.
That leaves Franklin as the likelier candidate to help sooner. He could even get some innings later this season, and the Mets may already be in the middle of that evaluation process.
A lone inning in the final weekend would not be a surprise if they want to get a look. The strikeout stuff is real enough too, with 11.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 before the deal, even if the minor league ERA itself doesn’t jump off the page.
With expiring contracts, there’s at least some reason to believe the Mets did their homework. That’s easier to buy.
The Brazoban trade is harder to defend, especially compared with the Luke Weaver deal, which can still be given two years to play out. Right now, there are no promising signs from the pair the Mets got back for Brazoban, and that makes this the deadline move that most needs to pay off soon.
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One name that fits the Mets general appetite for talent is Kris Bubic, a left-hander who would add intrigue to their long-range plans. The appeal is obvious enough, but so is the uncertainty, since his health situation makes the timing murky and leaves the club with a familiar question: how much patience are they willing to buy into while shaping a rotation that is supposed to hold up down the line? [Read more 🡒]