Well it’s about time! The first major trade chip has been moved as the Toronto Blue Jays have sent their young, talented ace Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets. I am going to use this article to breakdown the trade between the two clubs, and give my thoughts and grades for the deal.

The Trade Details:

The Mets receive: Marcus Stroman, Starting Pitcher

The Blue Jays receive: Anthony Kay, Starting Pitcher & Simeon Woods-Richardson, Starting Pitcher

Breakdown, Analysis, and Grades:

Mets: This is a may seem like a weird deal for the Mets, who are currently not a contender for the playoffs. However, the Mets are playing good baseball right now,  and actually are only six games out of the NL Wild Card. I don’t believe the Mets are prioritizing this trade to win now, but are putting themselves in a better position to possibly sneak into the wild card conversation. Marcus Stroman has become one of the best starters in the game today. He has the ability to force contact as well as rely on his stuff to rack up the strikeouts. He is currently putting up his best numbers which led to him being an all-star this season. Stroman is also under team control for next season which gives the Mets flexibility. They have the option of extending Stroman long term, or if they fall out of the race next year can trade him at the deadline similar to what the Blue Jays have done. I feel this is a smart move by the Mets to protect themselves not only this year but for next year. Zack Wheeler is going to be a free agent next year, and Jason Vargas could be a free agent if they don’t pick up his eight million dollar club option this offseason. The Mets have put themselves in a position to have one of the best rotations in baseball next year. Their pitching staff could look like Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Steven Mats, and another arm next year. This hinges on the fact that they don’t trade Noah Syndergaard. I honestly believe this move means they are likely to hang onto him. He is under team control for the next two years, and moving him would not be wise unless another team blows you away with an offer. Marcus Stroman also bring experience in the postseason, and was pitching well in one of the best hitting divisions in baseball. I think this is a wise long term move by the Mets, and gives them flexibility based on their success next season. Stroman is now able to return to his home state of New York, and join a team with bigger aspirations for contending in the future than Toronto.

Grade: B

Blue Jays: The Jays are in a clear rebuild, and were never going to sign Stroman long term. The biggest need for the Blue Jays is quality, controllable, and young pitching arms. They are able to solve this problem by adding two of the Mets top minor league arms. Anthony Kay is a former first round pick by the Mets back in 2016 out of Connecticut. Kay is a southpaw arm who was dominant earlier this year at the Double-A minor league level. He also represented the Mets in the annual MLB Futures Game. He has struggled mightily at the Triple-A level, and it seems the step up in competition has given him issues. Despite this, Kay does have upside, and is a pitcher who likes to rely on his fastball and changeup combination. He also has great command with a low walk ratio which is rare with developing arms. He seems to be fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery he went through early in his big league career. He could end up being a middle of the rotation starter for the Jays in the near future. Simeon Woods-Richardson was a second round pick for the Mets in 2018. He was drafted straight out of high school, and is a developing arm at only age 18. The right hander has a good fastball, and is developing his secondary pitches currently with the changeup being his favorite. Woods-Richardson is a solid athlete, and has a smooth delivery which improves his stock going forward. He is putting up a respectable 4.25 ERA currently at the Single-A level, but is a long way from contributing in the MLB. The biggest question for Woods-Richardson is if he can develop enough secondary pitches to be a long term starter. He may end up having to switch to a reliever role if he is unable to improve his pitching arsenal. Although both of these pitchers have upside, this seems to be a pretty low return for Stroman. I feel the Blue Jays could have gotten more from contending teams like the Yankees, Twins, or Braves who all have solid farm systems. Maybe the price dropped for Stroman, or the market wasn’t as ripe as we anticipated. At the very least, the Blue Jays are able to get some sort of return for a pitcher who was going to leave at some point in free agency.

Grade: C+

Final Thoughts:
I don’t believe either team hit it out of the park in this deal. The Mets gained a quality, controllable starter but gave up some of their best arms to make it happen. This is somewhat of an odd trade for a team that doesn’t seem to be in a contender mode. The Blue Jays on the other hand seemed to get a smaller return than expected, and had to settle for prospects with upside. It will be interesting to see which team wins this trade down the road, but for the time being I actually have the Mets getting the better end of this deal.

Photo Credit: https://thespun.com/more/mlb/marcus-stroman-trade-dodgers-yankees-mets