The New York Mets have traded Huascar Brazobán to the Chicago White Sox, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported late Sunday night. The Mets received RHP Gabe Davis and RHP Zach Franklin.
Brazobán, acquired by the Mets at the 2024 trade deadline from the Miami Marlins for Wilfredo Lara, has more than returned value in the parts of three seasons he spent in Queens. Across 117 appearances as a Met, Brazobán posted a 3.42 ERA with 123 strikeouts over 136 and 2/3 innings. He accumulated 1.2 fWAR in his Mets career. Lara has not made it past High-A, the level he was at when the Mets traded him two years ago.
Davis, 22, was a 5th-round pick in 2025 out of Oklahoma State. He was teammates with both Nolan McLean and Carson Benge. He was mainly a reliever in college, whom the White Sox have stretched out into a starter. He only threw 24 and 1/3 innings his draft year due to shoulder issues stemming from a fishing accident. He’s listed as 6-foot-9, 234 lbs.
The right-hander started 2026 well, posting a 2.63 ERA with 33 strikeouts and seven walks in 27 and 1/3 innings over eight starts at High-A. He received a promotion to Double-A on May 30 and has struggled since. In 10 starts at that level, Davis has an 8.31 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 17 walks over 34 and 2/3 innings. Most of that damage came in a three-start span in the second-half of June, where he gave up 19 earned runs in 8 and 1/3 innings. In his other seven starts, Davis has given up 13 earned runs in 26 and 1/3 innings. That’s still a 4.44 ERA, but it’s not as gaudy a figure.
Baseball America has Davis as Chicago’s No. 20 overall prospect with a 60-grade fastball, 60-grade slider, 40-grade changeup and 40-grade control. They say his fastball can touch 100 with great extension and a lot of spin, and he had the makings of a Day 1 pick before his injury. MLB Pipeline has him at No. 18 with a similar scouting report.
Davis is definitely a project, but it’s an intriguing upside swing. Pitchers who can throw 100 mph don’t grow on trees. There’s a lot of reliever risk with him, but the Mets will certainly try to keep developing him as a starter. If he does end up shifting to the bullpen, he has two plus pitches to work with. A lot of times, that’s enough to be effective in short spurts, especially if you throw as hard as Davis does.
Franklin, 27, was a 10th-round pick by the White Sox in 2023 out of Missouri. Chicago signed him for just $10,000—$157.60k below slot—no-doubt contributing to the over $750,000 over-slot signing of 7th-rounder George Wolkow. A reliever, Franklin has slowly but surely worked his way through Chicago’s minor league system over the last four seasons. He has spent his entire 2026 at Triple-A, posting a 4.37 ERA with 60 strikeouts and 14 walks over 45 and 1/3 innings.
He features a low-to-mid 90s fastball, slider, splitter and curveball. He’s well above average in both striking batters out and limiting walks. Hitters chase out of the zone and whiff at well above-average rates, but he has gotten hit hard when batters do connect. Given his age and upper-minors experience, it seems likely he’ll make his MLB debut in the final two months, especially after the Mets trade away more bullpen pieces as they’re expected to. He will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, too, so the Mets need to add him to the 40-man roster anyway. He seems destined to ride the shuttle from Syracuse to Queens and back for the next few seasons.
It’s not a staggering return, but at 36 years old, the Mets have flipped Brazobán for more than they acquired him for. There’s an argument to be made that Davis’ upside alone makes this a stronger return than the Blue Jays got for Kevin Gausman, though that might be more of a reflection on how poorly Toronto did in that deal.
