While the New York Mets’ decision to trade aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer frustrated fans and even players on the roster, there are many around the league who believe they were smart moves that scored an impressive return.
After winning 101 games last season the New York Mets had high hopes for their 2023 campaign and invested record sums of money into it. However, the performance on the field did not at all match the huge amount of money being doled out and it forced the organization to make a surprising pivot at the MLB trade deadline.
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Instead of holding on to some of their expensive pieces and hoping they can turn things around in 2024, they jumped on what was a seller’s market for pitchers and actually shipped off their top two before the deadline. However, their trades that included future Hall-of-Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were not your normal deadline deals.
Essentially, the Mets paid to get better prospects back in the deals by picking up large sums of the remaining money left on both players’ contracts. While it was a move some frowned at it, it seems that many inside the industry view that decision as a savvy play to improve the organization’s future while making use of their best resource in billionaire owner Steve Cohen.
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New York Mets may have a steal in Astros prospect Ryan Clifford
On Tuesday, SNY MLB insider John Harper wrote about recent conversations he had with several MLB executives and scouts about what New York received in their deals with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros. In those trades, the team added Luisangel Acuna, Drew Gilbert, and Ryan Clifford. All three were elite-level prospects in their previous organization and immediately landed in the Mets’ top 10 prospect list on most prospect sites after the deals.
“Sometimes a team will make sure to get four or five prospects in one of those trades because it looks like a big haul,” one American League executive told SNY. “I’d rather zero in on the one or two players your scouts are confident will be potential difference-makers at the highest level. It looks like that’s what the Mets did. The reports are really good on the key players they got, especially in the deals for Scherzer and Verlander.
“It doesn’t happen without Cohen eating so much money,” the exec added, “but it’s still up to your baseball people to find the right guys, and then as GM you have to make the decision.”
“The feeling around the game is the Mets did very well,” a scout in the league claimed.
While Acuna — the brother of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna — and Gilbert will get most of the attention, there is a belief the New York Mets may have also landed a steal in Astros prospect Drew Clifford.
“I’m surprised Houston gave him up,” said one MLB exec. “You can really dream on his power.” Clifford’s power upside seems to be a popular trait among league scouts as one told SNY, “I call him a thinking man’s power hitter,” while another claimed, “He’s one of the most advanced young hitters I’ve seen.”
While fans may not be thrilled that the Mets reportedly have punted being a contender until 2025, it seems they had some major success that even rivals can’t deny in their blockbuster trades before the deadline.