Mets' trade deadline sale completes 180-degree turn from a once-promising 2023 season
KANSAS CITY — After Max Scherzer was traded to the Rangers on Sunday afternoon, general manager Billy Eppler was emphatic.
It was a strategic decision. It was not a rebuild, not a fire sale.
Yet the MLB trade deadline came and roiled through the Mets clubhouse like a tornado. The aftermath was hard to recognize.
The Mets proved to be the ultimate sellers across Major League Baseball, adding three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, outfielder Tommy Pham and relief pitcher Dominic Leone to the growing list of veteran departures at the end of trading on Tuesday.
Those exits from key difference makers in the starting rotation, top of the lineup and bullpen were heaped on a wild five-day span that also included the exits of Scherzer, closer David Robertson and outfielder Mark Canha.
After the deadline, Eppler reiterated the team's strategy to capitalize on opportunities to upgrade the team's farm system at the right price point.
"We’re just trying to restock and reload a farm system," Eppler said. "You have to kind of go through a little bit of pain to get where we want to go. I feel that the organization is making strides toward a better future."
After entering the season with the goal of winning the World Series, it was a jarring sell-off that will likely cede the remainder of the 2023 season. The Mets entered Tuesday with a 50-55 record. They had a 13.2 percent chance of reaching the playoff entering last week's series with the Nationals. Despite taking three out of four, the Mets' probability of postseason play evaporated to 8.3 percent on Tuesday.
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That will happen when the two aces of a pitching staff — and two eventual Hall of Famers — exit the clubhouse.
Now, with the Mets filling the voids in platoon-like fashion for the remainder of the season, the major question is how soon can the team regain its edge as one of the top teams in MLB. The batch of moves will allow the front office to see what they have in Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez at the major-league level, while moving in the next talented generation.
"What we’ll do is we’ll end up watching a lot of our players the rest of the season and potentially get a chance to make some further evaluations, see how our depth chart looks going into 2024 and understand where we are," Eppler said of the trajectory for 2024 and the team's approach toward free agency.
A large question lingers about where this leaves the Mets' core, notably Pete Alonso who has one more full season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
"Honestly, that's their decision, but for me, regardless of our personnel, we're going to try and win every single game," Alonso said. "For me, my job is to go out there and perform every single night.
"I can't necessarily worry about the team philosophy because it's just in my DNA as a player, every time I'm written in the lineup, I'm doing what ever I can to win the game."
Tuesday's trade of Verlander helped the Mets grab Astros' top-ranked prospect, outfielder Drew Gilbert, and No. 4 prospect, outfielder Ryan Clifford. Combined, they are 42 years old, just two years older than the 250-game winner who was sent back to where he won a World Series a season ago.
Scherzer's trade netted No. 44 overall prospect Luisangel Acuña, younger brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. The 21-year-old infielder has been strong in his first full season in Double-A, but he is unlikely to arrive until at least next season.
Steve Cohen cautioned that the Mets would be looking to develop the farm system during a "State of the Mets" address amid the team's struggles in late June. But the depth of the sell-off was jarring.
Now, the players must face a reality that the approach will not be the same as it was coming into the season when they spent a record $366 million.
"We got to go out there and compete, give it our best," Francisco Lindor said. "I signed up here to to be in a winning franchise, and they're trying to do whatever it takes to build a sustainable winning franchise. I'm on board."