MLB Trades 2019: Mets and Teams Who Netted Biggest Deadline Gains
It took awhile for Major League Baseball's trade season to get going, but action has picked up significantly this week.
Since MLB decided to get rid of the Aug. 31 waiver deadline, teams face a greater sense of urgency to try upgrading their roster for the stretch run before Wednesday's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline passes.
One thing that's been made clear through every deal to this point is the market is flush with pitching. Eight different MLB pitchers—combined between starters and relievers—have changed teams, per an MLB.com list of trades.
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Going over that list of moves, here are the biggest winners from the trade deadline to this point.
Mets Acquire Marcus Stroman From Blue Jays for Two Prospects
In true New York Mets fashion, after spending most of July being discussed as sellers, they decided to go against the grain by acquiring Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson.
There are two ways to examine this deal for the Mets.
Looking at this purely from a talent perspective, Stroman is an upgrade for the Mets over Zack Wheeler—a trade candidate in his own right—Steven Matz and Jason Vargas. The 2019 All-Star owns the 11th-best groundball-to-flyball ratio (1.50) and 12th-best ERA (2.96) in MLB.
This deal becomes confusing when factoring in Stroman's contract status. He's got one more year of team control before hitting free agency after the 2020 season.
The Mets are currently six games out of a playoff spot in the National League. Their roster is a mess with the exception of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto in the lineup and Stroman and Jacob deGrom in the starting rotation.
As noted by ESPN's Keith Law, the Mets "just aren't good enough to justify trading two of their top 10 prospects for short-term help."
Unless New York's front office has some grand plan to build a complete roster for 2020, what purpose does Stroman serve for this team?
Per MLB.com, Kay has the ability to become a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues. The 24-year-old is already in Triple-A, where he's struggled with a 6.61 ERA in just seven starts. Woods-Richardson is 18 years old in High-A and has struck out 97 in 78.1 innings.
The Mets didn't give up an elite prospect for Stroman, but Kay and Woods-Richardson certainly have plenty of value for a franchise in a rebuilding phase.
Instead, New York fancies itself as a playoff contender despite all evidence to the contrary. The Blue Jays knew they weren't going to be ready for contention by the time Stroman hit free agency, and the organization did a solid job of getting value for him even if it's not the kind of a return one would expect for an All-Star pitcher on an affordable contract.
Phillies Add Jason Vargas
Sticking with the Mets, they struck another deal on Monday that will send Vargas to the Philadelphia Phillies.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the trade between the two National League East rivals. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets will receive Double-A catcher Austin Bossart.
The Phillies badly needed a starter who can provide quality innings. Aaron Nola is the team's only regular starting pitcher with a sub-4.40 ERA. Their collective 4.59 ERA ranks 16th in MLB and last in the NL East.
Vargas has been an above-average starter for most of his career. He's only had an ERA+ under 100 once since 2014—last year with the Mets when he allowed 18 homers in 92 innings.
Even if the 36-year-old only pitches at a league-average level for the Phillies, that's a huge upgrade over what they've received from Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin and Jerad Eickhoff.
It seems unlikely Philadelphia will be able to erase the Atlanta Braves' 6.5-game lead, but the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals are only one game up in the NL wild-card chase.
Getting eight starts out of Vargas is a solid upgrade for the Phillies, who only gave up a 26-year-old catcher in his second season at Double-A.
Rays Acquire Eric Sogard from Blue Jays
It's a testament to the Tampa Bay Rays' depth that they remain in the thick of the American League wild-card race with so many key players on the injured list.
Needing to add reinforcements to their lineup for the stretch run, the Rays announced their acquisition of utilityman Eric Sogard from the Blue Jays for two players to be named later.
Tampa Bay currently is playing without its starting second baseman (Brandon Lowe), third baseman (Yandy Diaz) and center fielder (Kevin Kiermaier) due to injuries.
Sogard will immediately fit in for manager Kevin Cash because he can play every position except catcher and pitcher. He was used at second base, third base, shortstop, right field, center field and designated hitter with the Blue Jays this season.
Adding to the 33-year-old's value is his production at the plate. The Arizona native is in the middle of a career year on offense with a .300/.363/.477 slash line with 10 homers in 73 games. He had 11 career homers in 584 games from 2010-18.
The Rays, who always operate under strict financial limitations, don't have to give up much in the way of money for Sogard. He's only making $555,000 this season, per Spotrac.
While Toronto's full return for Sogard is currently unknown, dealing him opened up a roster spot the team used to call up top prospect Bo Bichette from Triple-A, per MLB.com's Matt Kelly and Keegan Matheson.
The Blue Jays were only using Sogard as a stopgap. Now, the franchise will get a glimpse of what a pairing of Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will look like in the lineup for the final two months of the season.
A's Add Homer Bailey, Jake Diekman to Boost Pitching Staff
The Oakland Athletics struck two separate deals with the Kansas City Royals for Homer Bailey and Jake Diekman to help their pitching staff down the stretch.
Bailey has already made three appearances since being acquired on July 14. His 8.59 ERA is skewed by one start against the Houston Astros on July 27 when he allowed nine runs in two innings. The right-hander gave up five runs with 13 strikeouts over 12.2 innings in two starts against the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
General manager David Forst had to find a starter who could give the A's innings in the wake of Frankie Montas, who led the team with a 2.70 ERA, being suspended for 80 games by MLB for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy.
Montas will be eligible to return on Sept. 24 with six games remaining in the regular season, but he won't be eligible for the playoffs if Oakland makes it in.
Diekman was acquired from the Royals on July 27 for minor leaguers Ismael Aquino and Dairon Blanco. The 32-year-old has an uninspiring 4.75 ERA, but he could turn things around going from Kansas City to Oakland.
Per ESPN's Park Factors, Kaufmann Stadium is the fourth-best offensive park in MLB this season. Oakland Coliseum ranks 23rd in that category.
If Diekman can harness his control, everything else about his performance suggests he can be a dominant reliever. His 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings this season is the best rate of his career, but 23 walks in 41.2 innings puts a lot of traffic on the bases.
Oakland didn't give up anything of significant value to acquire either player. Aquino and Blanco aren't among MLB.com's top 30 prospects in Kansas City's farm system after the deal.
Shortstop Kevin Merrell, who was acquired for Bailey, does check in at No. 18 on that list, but his best tool is speed and his overall future grade of 45 is a below-average starter/utility player.
Those aren't bad returns for the Royals since Bailey and Diekman likely weren't going to return after this season, but they don't do anything to reshape the direction of the franchise.
Twins Acquire Sergio Romo, Two Players from Marlins
Looking to capitalize on their slim lead in the American League Central, the Minnesota Twins added Sergio Romo to their stable of relievers.
The Twins got Romo, minor-league pitcher Chris Vallimont and a player to be named later from the Marlins for minor league first baseman Lewin Diaz.
Relief pitching has been a source of frustration in Minnesota this season. The group is tied for 13th in MLB with a 4.37 ERA and ranks 16th with a .751 opponent OPS.
Taylor Rogers and Ryne Harper are the only Twins relievers who have an ERA under 3.70 with at least 20 appearances.
Romo isn't the same pitcher he was at his peak with the San Francisco Giants from 2008-16, but he's still a reliable arm who can be called on to get right-handed hitters out. The 36-year-old has limited righties to a .203/.241/.392 slash line this season.
Minnesota also did a good job to get Vallimont included in the deal. He slots in as the team's No. 29 prospect, per MLB.com.
Diaz is a solid addition to Miami's farm system. The 22-year-old is the Marlins' No. 12 prospect by MLB.com, but being limited to first base means he will have to hit a ton to have value in the big leagues.
With the Twins and Cleveland Indians separated by just two games, Romo has the ability to provide a slight edge in Minnesota's favor to win the division and avoid a potential wild-card game.
Red Sox Acquire Andrew Cashner from Orioles
The Boston Red Sox kicked off trade season on July 13 with the acquisition of Andrew Cashner from the Baltimore Orioles for minor leaguers Elio Prado and Noelberth Romero.
Cashner has struggled with a 6.11 ERA in three starts for his new team, but he did battle his way through six innings Friday against the New York Yankees. The right-hander allowed three runs and scattered 10 hits in a 10-5 win.
Boston's addition of the 32-year-old is a multi-layered move that makes perfect sense for the team. He slots into the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation, which had been a revolving door with Brian Johnson, Hector Velazquez, Ryan Weber and Nathan Eovaldi.
Eovaldi has been a bust due to poor performance and injuries. A playoff hero last year, the 29-year-old had an ERA of 6.00 in four starts before going on the injured list with an elbow injury that required surgery. He has given up five runs in 2.2 innings since returning on July 22.
The key for Boston to get back to the postseason will be determined by Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello and David Price pitching up to their potential. Cashner is a stabilizing force at the back of the rotation.
Baltimore's return was essentially depth since Prado and Romero aren't among the team's top 30 prospects list on MLB.com. At least the Orioles were able to flip Cashner for minor leaguers who could eventually develop into something.
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