Yoenis Cespedes finished 13th in National League MVP voting due his spectacular regular season showing with the Mets. He was ranked 6th on two ballots, seventh on three and 10th on two, which gave him 24 points.
He edged out Curtis Granderson, who finished 18th, for the top spot among Mets’ players. (Adam Rubin ESPN NY)
In 57 games with New York, Cespedes batted .287 with 17 home runs and 44 RBI. His strong second half performance propelled the Mets to the top of the division and helped them overtake Washington for the NL East title. However, the 30 year old outfielder disappointed in the playoffs, and he isn’t expected to return to the team next season.
The main prospect Detroit received in the trade, right-hander Michael Fulmer, is currently drawing rave reviews. He was ranked as the number one prospect in the Tigers ‘system by Baseball Prospectus on Thursday, and has made tremendous strides this season.
Fulmer had a 10-3 record with an outstanding 2.24 ERA in 124 innings pitched this season in both the Tigers’ and Mets’ organizations. He also struck out 125 batters while walking just 30 and posted a solid 1.07 WHIP.
“The last few years saw Fulmer show glimpses of what made him a top-50 draft prospect back in 2011, and he finally put it all together in 2015. More than one scout told me that Fulmer was not just the most improved pitcher in the Mets system, but in all of baseball.” (Baseball Prospectus)
Meanwhile, the other prospect involved in the deal, Luis Cessa, was ranked 10th. Cessa was 8-10 this year with a 4.52 ERA in 139 innings pitched.
“The “other” arm acquired in the Cespedes deal, Cessa doesn’t offer the same kind of upside as Fulmer but does have a chance to pitch in a big-league rotation. The fastball is plus, generally sitting 92-94 with some downhill plane and sink, and could play up in shorter spurts because of his arm strength.”
While Fulmer could develop into a great pitcher down the road, the trade was absolutely still worth it for the Mets. They had to pull the trigger on Cespedes, and they probably don’t make the postseason without his contributions.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson spoke about that earlier this month when asked if trading the two top arms was worth it.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Alderson said “We wouldn’t have gotten to the World Series without Cespedes, so, from our standpoint, that was a price well paid.”
It looks like one of those deals where both team’s benefit since the Mets needed to win now while the Tigers needed to restock their farm and prepare for the future.
