Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Just when you thought this week in Mets Land couldn’t get any odder, the Mets and Yankees have made a trade.
The two teams have exchanged relievers, with Miguel Castro heading from Flushing to the Bronx, and lefty Joely Rodriguez coming back to the Mets in the deal.
The Mets originally acquired Castro from the Baltimore Orioles during the 2020 season, and he seemed to be able to get his pitch location under control in 2021. He produced a 3.45 ERA (4.36 FIP) over 70 2/3 innings for the Mets. He’ll now slot into the middle of the Yankees bullpen.
As for the return the Mets got, Rodriguez is now the lone left-hander in the Mets’ bullpen (pending Chasen Shreve making the team). The 30-year-old has a 4.61 ERA (3.87 FIP) over 95 2/3 innings in his career. He’s had solid stretches in his career, too, with a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings with the Yankees in 2021 after coming over from the Texas Rangers in the Joey Gallo trade.
Rodriguez is a sinker-ball pitcher who generates a ton of ground balls. He’ll make $2 million as a base salary, and Joel Sherman reports the left has a $500,000 reassignment bonus, which the Mets will pay, in his contract. Overall, he’ll make around $120,000 less than Castro. (Every penny counts when you’re bumping against higher luxury tax thresholds.)
Castro is in his final year of arbitration before free agency, and there are conflicting reports on Rodriguez’s level of team control after this season, though he has just over two years of MLB service time. (Update: Joel Sherman says Rodriguez will be a free agent after this year due to a clause in his contract despite his lack of six years of service time.)
Rodriguez will join a Mets righty-heavy bullpen that features Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Adam Ottavino and others.
This is the first time the Mets and Yankees exchanged current major-league players since 2004, when the Mets shipped Mike Stanton (the pitcher) to the Yankees for Félix Heredia.
