The 2023 New York Mets trade deadline had a daring quality to it that had never been seen in Major League Baseball. Turn over the aces and take a bite out of the tab. It wasn’t exactly giving back because the Mets were able to acquire some noteworthy prospects through the two mega-deals they did make.
It seems like the appropriate move to send Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros in exchange for Ryan Clifford and Drew Gilbert. It will be interesting to watch how those two prospects develop and whether or if Verlander can help the Astros win one more pennant in 2024. The outcome of the other transaction, which involved Max Scherzer for Luisangel Acuna, may be a little clearer.
Scherzer went from having one of his worst seasons in a long time with the Mets to a much more favorable 8 game stint with the Texas Rangers. He hardly contributed in the postseason, totaling 9.2 innings in only 3 starts and losing his one decision. The Rangers won the World Series in spite of the shortcomings in the postseason. He missed his recently scheduled rehab start which adds to the 2024 agony of having him around for Texas. Nonetheless, if he never pitches again for them, it feels like the Rangers got the best of the Mets.
This bold Mets trade looks like a Rangers victory even with how little they’ve received
Acuna has yet to make his major league debut and while this doesn’t mean he is any kind of a bust, his struggles in Triple-A this year suggest this wasn’t as brilliant of a trade as the Verlander one.
The Mets paid all of the $43.3 million Scherzer was owed in 2023 and picked up $20.83 million in 2024. Close to what Steve Cohen tips his servers when he goes out to dinner on New Year’s Eve or maybe even a random night in August, it’s in no way a detriment to the Mets payroll.
The downside of this trade is, instead, the player the Mets got back. Acuna has gone from being a top 100 prospect to someone on the outside looking inward. The Mets bought high on his .315/.377/.453 performance last season in 402 Double-A plate appearances for the Frisco RoughRiders. His numbers have all dropped this season. Through 506 plate appearances, he has a .257/.304/.357 slash line. He has 6 home runs, 42 RBI, and 32 stolen bases as well. It’s not bad enough to dismiss him entirely yet far less than what we wanted to see from a guy whose MLB ETA was originally right now.
The Mets won’t have the same ability to have patience with Acuna as they have with players like Brett Baty or Mark Vientos. Two of his minor league option years have been utilized which means they’ll only get a chance to demote him one more time. A preseason demotion counts and based on what he has done in the minors this year, he is no sure thing to make next year’s Opening Day roster.
A championship banner in Arlington helps trump any argument the Mets won this trade. Still a worthwhile move to make at the time, it didn’t take long for the potential reward to dry up.
