The New York Mets have acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard from the Oakland A’s in exchange for minor league RHP Casey Meisner according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
The Mets are reportedly receiving $1 million in cash as part of the deal. So Clippard ends up costing approximately $2.5 million dollars to the Mets. Quite a coup for Sandy Alderson.
To make room for Clippard on the 40 man roster, Erik Goeddel has been transferred to the 60 day DL.
Clippard, a two-time All-Star, has held lefties to a .100 (7-70) mark this year and a career .183 mark. He led MLB with 40 holds in 2014.
Clippard immediately takes over as the Mets setup man, although Adam Rubin is speculating he should take over as the teams closer.
According to several reports, Clippard was also reportedly being sought after by the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees. (Sorries)
There is also sufficient buzz that the Mets are not finished yet and still continue to shop for a bat.
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According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Mets and A’s are making progress on a deal that would send closer Tyler Clippard to New York.
Other teams are still in play, Rosenthal reports, but a “deal [is] expected soon.”
Clippard, 30, has saved 17 games for Oakland this season, owning a 2.79 ERA in 37 appearances. He has struck out 38 batters over 38.2 innings and walked 21. He has proven to be a very consistent and effective back-end bullpen option in his time with both Oakland and Washington. Over the past five seasons, Clippard owns a 2.53 ERA in 341 innings.
In January, Clippard was traded to Oakland in exchange for Yunel Escobar. He avoided arbitration with Oakland by signing an $8.3 million deal in February, and will reach free agency after the season. He is owed roughly $4 million the rest of the season.
Thoughts from Joe D.
The addition of Tyler Clippard would be huge in my estimation, and it appears the Mets are pushing real hard on this.
Given the fact that we are veering ever so closer to a playoff spot, and considering the fact that Jenrry Mejia is ineligible to be on a postseason roster, the addition of a late inning reliever like Clippard can’t be understated.
Some of the names I’m hearing range from Rafael Montero to even Jenrry Mejia himself as far as what the Oakland A’s can get back. Either way, it’s a win for the New York Mets.
Thoughts from Connor O’Brien
Keith Law made an interesting point on Twitter upon seeing news of this trade. He criticized the Mets “for giving up a legitimate prospect for 20 innings of a reliever.” Casey Meisner is definitely a “legitimate prospect,” certainly among the top ten or 20 overall in the Mets system.
Losing Meisner admittedly stings a bit. He’s had tremendous success in the minor leagues so far, and the scouts like him. However, the odds of him becoming a great (or even good) pitcher are incredibly low. Think about this: the top ten prospects in all of baseball, as rated by Baseball America, bust 60 percent of the time. What does that say about Meisner, who wouldn’t even crack the top 200?
I love prospects. I’ve always said that unless your team has unlimited money, you cannot win without homegrown, core players. I still believe that and I still think the Mets should be extremely frugal with the young talent they have. That being said, we have been lulled by a lack of major trade acquisitions over the past few years into dramatically overvaluing our prospects. The reality is, this is the benefit of having the strong player development system that the Mets have built over the past few years (which has gone from 25th in the league in 2010 to 5th this year).
Losing Meisner hardly puts a dent in the depth the Mets have accumulated in the farm system. And more importantly, this brings the Mets that much closer to the playoffs.
