The New York Mets have traded first baseman Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed pitching prospect Drew Smith according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Duda, 31, is hitting .246/.347/.532 with 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 37 RBI this year for the Mets. He leaves the Mets with the seventh most home runs in franchise history with 125.
The Rays are taking on the rest of the 2017 salary, roughly $2.5 million according to Buster Olney of ESPN.
Smith is rated as the Rays No. 30 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The former third round pick in 2015 has a 1.60 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over four different levels as a reliever.
Smith, 23, has a fastball that tops out at 96 MPH with an above average curveball and has the ceiling of a future setup man according to people in the industry.
