Paul Blackburn
With the New York Mets pursuing Roki Sasaki, the team was indicating they’re looking towards a six man rotation. They’re also looking for starting pitching depth.
While there are internal options like Griffin Canning and Paul Blackburn, the Mets could turn to the free agent market. One name that stands out there is former Met Max Scherzer.
Scherzer, 40, is not the prime target he was when the Mets signed him back in 2021. Rather, he’s a future Hall of Famer looking for one last chance to win, one last chance for glory before he retires.
The Mets could present that. However, the question is what could Scherzer present to the Mets at this stage of his career.
For starters, Scherzer provides a veteran presence and competitive edge. As detailed by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Scherzer served as a mentor to the younger Mets pitchers, and the Mets thrived in 2022 as a result.
In many ways, Scherzer acted as an extension of Jeremy Hefner. There’s real value there as the Mets look to make Frankie Montas this year’s version of Luis Severino. They’re also trying to reclimate Canning, and hopefully, we will soon see Brandon Sproat.
This is all well and good, but this is also why the Mets have Hefner. It’s also why Steve Cohen has invested so much money in analytics. It doesn’t matter at all if Scherzer is done.
Fortunately, it appears Scherzer has something left in the tank. In an injury riddled season, he had a 101 ERA+, 4.18 FIP, and an 8.3 K/9. There are numbers there to justify him as a fifth starter.
Looking at his Baseball Savant page, Scherzer can still miss bats. It’s not at the same rate as his prime or even two years ago. Fortunately, even when opposing batters make contact, he’s limiting the damage.
Yes, he’s injury prone now. It may sound odd to say, but that does somewhat help the Mets. It would give a chance for a Canning or Sproat to prove themselves.
In essence, Scherzer buys the Mets time. It’s time for the younger starters. It’s time for Montas to figure it out. It’s time between starts for Kodai Senga.
Scherzer pitched well for the Mets when his body let him. He was the co-ace they needed. Now, they need a placeholder and veteran staff leader. Once again, he’s a perfect fit.
The New York Mets catapulted themselves into postseason contention after a disastrous May. As the team clawed its way back Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo implored the front office to be buyers at the trade deadline.
Truth be told, this was easier said than done.
Kodai Senga was hurt most of the season, and worse yet, he suffered a season ending injury in his only start of the season. There went a much needed top of the rotation starter.
The bullpen has long been a problem all season. Just when they think they find something, it falls apart.
Reed Garrett was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s hurt. Adrian Houser was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s gone.
We’ve seen Dedniel Núñez and Sean Reid-Foley fulfill their promise. Both are on the IL. Everytime the Mets found something, it fell apart.
They could never build a bridge to Edwin Díaz, a closer who still isn’t the Díaz of 2022.
The prices at the trade deadline were astronomical. Case-in-point, the Mets overpaid to acquire Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals. At least based on what we saw, it wasn’t quite the overpay it was because the market was that absurd.
Stearns effectively gave up nothing for Phil Maton, who had been great for the Mets this far. He gave up a lower tiered older prospect who struggled in Triple-A for Ryne Stanek. Stanek has struggled this year, but he has a good track record.
He obtained Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics for a promising pitcher. Blackburn was a 2022 All-Star, and he’s under team control for another year.
The Blackburn acquisition gets a struggling Tylor Megill out of the rotation and could make him a bullpen option. It also keeps Jose Buttó, the only good remaining reliever in the pen, in the bullpen.
The Mets obtained Tyler Zuber from the Rays for a boom-or-bust minor league reliever. Zuber has options remaining and is not yet arbitration eligible.
Finally, the Mets got THE big piece by obtaining Huascar Brazobán. He’s having a terrific year for the Miami Marlins and will be under team control for four more seasons. All that for a utility player prospect.
Make no mistake losing Tyler Stuart and Kade Morris hurts. However, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as watching Carlos Mendoza left with no good options in the bullpen leaving even the largest of Mets leads unsafe.
Suddenly, you can argue the Mets bullpen is one of the team’s strengths. It went from drowning to a sufficient bridge to Díaz.
Looking at the team, the lineup is better with Winker. The rotation is better with Blackburn. The bullpen was completely overhauled like it needed to be.
The Mets never got the ace. They didn’t get a top set-up man. You could argue they needed to do more, but you’ll notice Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal weren’t traded.
This team is significantly better, and they did it by minimizing the hit to the farm system. They turned their biggest weakness into a strength. They solidified themselves as a legit postseason caliber club.
David Stearns had a near flawless trade deadline. Between him and Steve Cohen, we see they will go for it, and the Mets are extraordinarily well run.
Call this a test balloon if you will, but Stearns showed his has what it takes to get the Mets to the 2024 postseason. He showed he has what it takes to get another World Series title to Queens.