How did the Mets grade at the trade deadline?

The Mets found their centerfielder before the deadline passed, adding to the three relievers they had already procured over the last week

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️

• The Mets were off on Thursday - they open a three-game series with the Giants at Citi Field on Friday night

• The club acquired CF Cedric Mullins from the Orioles in exchange for prospects RHP Anthony Nunez (Mets’ No. 14 prospect), RHP Raimon Gómez (Mets’ No. 30 prospect), and RHP Chandler Marsh (story)

• With their moves to bolster the bullpen and the outfield, the Mets have kept pace with their rivals in the NL East (The Athletic)

• There was speculation that the Mets were looking to add to the rotation but ultimately it did not happen (The Athletic)

• Now that the deadline has passed, the best option for the team to upgrade the rotation is from within (NY Post)

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Just Mets LIVE! 🎙️

Listen to our live call-in show from Thursday night recapping the final day of the trade deadline on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for free!

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Roster Moves 📰

• RHP Tyler Rogers reported to the major league team

• RHP Chris Devenski optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

• DH Jesse Winker (back inflammation) transferred to 60-day IL

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David Stearns’ recap of the trade deadline 🗣️

• Stearns credited the amateur talent acquisition group and player development staff for putting their farm system in a position to move prospects ahead of the trade deadline

• He didn’t dismiss the level of talent he had to relinquish to acquire major league help this summer, acknowledging they are all good players they gave up

• He believes Cedric Mullins defense had been previously hampered by a tweaked hamstring, and they really like what they’ve seen from him over the last couple of months. He doesn’t want to read too much into a small sample reverse split on him, which suggests he will thrive against left-handed pitching

• The Mets were engaged on a number of starting pitchers, but indicated the prices were too high for their liking and risk level

• Both Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat could help the major league team down the stretch of the season

• Neither Jesse Winker or José Siri will be available in August - he is hopeful both will play again this season

• The club’s aggressiveness does not suggest they see the Mets as having a narrowing window to win - the expectation is the Mets are positioning themselves to be a postseason contender on an annual basis

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Brandon Sproat (No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K

• CF A.J. Ewing (No. 8 prospect, High-A): 3-for-4, RBI, R, BB

• OF Randy Guzman (Single-A): 3-for-5, 3 RBI

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG (PPD) | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (62-47) vs. Giants (54-55)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP David Peterson (7-4, 2.83 ERA) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.93 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Grading the Mets Trade Deadline… ✍️

Heading into the July 31 deadline, the Mets had several obvious needs: the rotation, the bullpen, centerfield, and third base. David Stearns was aggressive early and added Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley after already acquiring Gregory Soto. Given his moves, it seems out of all of their needs, Stearns prioritized the bullpen.

Soto filled two needs since he is both a lefty and a reliever. He joins Brooks Raley as the other southpaw in the bullpen. He is a nice complement to Raley since he is more of a power pitcher, whereas Raley is more of a soft tosser. Raley is, however, coming off Tommy John and just returned in July. Soto gives them more of a known entity right now, and he has postseason experience with both the Phillies and Orioles. Soto unfortunately walks a lot of batters, but hopefully, the Mets pitching lab can get a handle on his control issues. This was a move that Stearns absolutely needed to make, and he got it done.

Grade: B+

It was a bit of a surprise when the Mets acquired Rogers since his name had not been linked to them in any of the rumors floating around. The team had been rotating Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek as the late-inning bridge to Edwin Díaz, which has seen moments of success and moments of failure. The team needed another elite arm in the bullpen, and they certainly found that in Rogers. Since the 2021 season, Rogers has appeared in the most games while posting a 2.74 ERA. He has been especially dominant this year, posting a 1.80 ERA in 50 innings pitched.

As a submarine pitcher, he offers another look to the bullpen and should be a lethal weapon for Carlos Mendoza. While he is without a question an upgrade in the bullpen, the price was steep. RHP José Buttó, RHP prospect Blade Tidwell, and OF prospect Drew Gilbert went the other way in the deal. This certainly seems like a lot given the fact that Rogers is a free agent at the end of the season. Buttó has struggled this season, Tidwell is not the same caliber as some of their other pitching prospects, and it certainly seems like the organization has soured on Gilbert since, despite their centerfield woes, not once did he get a shot. It’s a great move but at a great cost.

Grade: A-

Ryan Helsley will most certainly slot in as the set-up man for Díaz to create a dominant duo at the end of games. He is a former All-Star closer for the Cardinals, and he has a 2.67 career ERA in 299.2 innings, with 105 saves and 355 strikeouts. The one concern this season is that his home run rate is higher than the past two seasons, which has led to a higher ERA. His nickname is Hellz Bellz, and he comes into games to “Hellz Bellz,” which, for a pure cinematic standpoint, is an amazing pairing with Díaz’s “Narco.” To complete the trade, the team sent infielder Jesús Baez and right-handed pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt to the Cardinals. Baez was the team’s eighth-ranked prospect, and Dohm was the team’s 14th-ranked prospect.

While Báez is a loss, the team acquired a quality arm without giving up any of their top five prospects.

Grade: A

While getting every single item on the team’s shopping list was always going to be difficult, Stearns did manage to check off another need with Cedric Mullins. With the White Sox possibly (and inexplicably) asking for Jonah Tong for Luis Robert Jr., Stearns pivoted to Mullins, who had a much lower asking price. Mullins plays a good centerfield and is hitting .229/.305/.433 with 15 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and 19 doubles so far this season. He did hit .290/.346/.522 in July, so hopefully he can keep that going with his new team. He’s definitely an upgrade over Tyrone Taylor, but a lot will depend on how much he hits down the stretch to truly get a sense of how good this trade actually is.

For now, given that he was traded for unranked prospects, it can be viewed as a solid move.

Grade: B

No, Stearns did not add a starter, but a lot of teams didn’t get a starter, evident by the fact that most of the rumored arms that were available didn’t get moved.

But considering the rotation is filled with five and dive arms, upgrading the bullpen was an absolute must. Now Mendoza should not hesitate when one of his starters is laboring in the fifth. Strengthening the bullpen strengthens the rotation. It would have been nice to get another starter, but the team should now not wait to give either Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat a shot in the majors.

Mullins is a fine move, and perhaps he can recapture some of the magic of his 2021 season. The talent is still there. Bottom line is that the Mets as a team need to start getting more from their stars. Stearns got them help, and now they just need to keep up their end of the bargain and start producing if they want to go on a deep run in October.

Overall Grade: B+

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Around the League 🚩

• The Padres acquired RHP Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears in a blockbuster trade with the Athletics

• San Diego also acquired 1B Ryan O'Hearn and OF Ramon Laureano from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for six minor leaguers

• Carlos Correa is heading back to Houston after the Astros acquired him right at the deadline from Minnesota

• The Rangers acquired RHP Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks with LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Mitch Bratt, and RHP David Hagaman headed to Arizona

• The Yankees added relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird to their bullpen in three separate trades

• The Cubs acquired utility infielder Willi Castro from the Twins

• The Red Sox traded for RHP Dustin May from the Dodgers

• The Rays added Adrian Houser to the rotation and reliever Griffin Jax to the bullpen in a pair of deals

• The Phillies added a right-handed bat to their club, acquiring CF Harrison Bader from the Twins