In a surprising trade which shook up the free-agent market, the New York Mets acquired pitcher Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods- Richardson.
While it was no surprise to anyone that the rebuilding Blue Jays were going to trade their ace, it was a big shock that he landed on the struggling Mets with a 50- 55 record.
According to FanGraphs, the Mets have a 9.6% chance of making the playoffs, with a microscopic 0.3% chance of winning the World Series. Despite their 4 game win streak, those are not the type of numbers you see from a team giving up 2 of their top prospects in an already weak farm system, and trading for perhaps the best starting pitcher on the trade market.
Although he is not going to a top world series contender, Stroman is a Long Island native and is happy to return to his New York roots.
The Yankees and Astros, the two teams with the highest chances of winning the American League pennant were the favorites to trade for Stroman, and each club is surprised he didn’t land on the other team. Furthermore, this shakes up the trade market even more, as there were rumors that the Mets’ ace Noah Syndergaard was a trade prospect with a lot of value. With the acquisition of Stroman, it appears that Syndergaard is staying put as well, and the Mets are all in this year. It seems as though Madison Bumgarner, the beloved Giants pitcher, is not up for trade either, further thinning the starting pitcher market.
Unlike other years with the August trade deadline, July 31 is the last deadline in 2019 and things are bound to get interesting. The Yankees are still looking for a starting pitcher to improve their rotation, and Mike Minor of the Texas Rangers seems to be the most tradeable pitcher on a team looking to sell. The Dodgers are once again the top team in the National League, but keep falling short and know they need bullpen help.
Despite this being the quietest trade deadline in a while, there are still 2 days left, and as we learned with the Justin Verlander deal in 2017, a lot can happen in the closing minutes before the deadline.
