Here is a look at how all of the prospects the Mets acquired a few months ago ended up faring in their new organization.

Steven Wojtowicz-MMO

SS Luisangel Acuña

Acuña arrived in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers. He hit .243 with a .622 OPS in 37 games for Binghamton, a sharp decline from the .315 average and .830 OPS he posted in his first 84 games of the season. He stole 15 bases in those 37 games and was caught stealing five times.

Acuña’s overall stats during the 2023 season were still quite impressive. He had a .294/.359/.410 slash line with 57 stolen bases and 93 runs scored. He projects as a top of the lineup bat with incredibly strong base stealing skills and relatively modest power upside (34 homers in 374 career minor league games).

He is Mets Minors’ top prospect as of early September, and he was No. 57 on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects.

OF Drew Gilbert and 1B/OF Ryan Clifford

Gilbert and Clifford were both acquired in the deal that sent Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros. Gilbert posted a .325/.423/.561 slash line in 35 games for Binghamton, hitting six homers and driving in 21 runs. Clifford hit .188 with a .683 OPS in 32 games for Brooklyn, hitting six homers and driving in 20 runs.

Gilbert was sensational all season, and he found another gear upon joining the Mets’ organization. He finished the year with an .868 OPS and 18 homers while playing excellent defense across multiple outfield positions. He will enter his age-23 season in 2024 as perhaps the organization’s most major league-ready outfield prospect.

Clifford started out his tenure with the Mets on a really strong foot, but he really struggled down the stretch. He still managed to slug 24 homers on the year and posted a strong .854 OPS in his age-19 season. The strikeout numbers are a bit concerning (140 strikeouts in 115 games in 2023), but the power is legit and certainly plays at first base or a corner outfield spot.

Gilbert and Clifford appeared at No. 78 and 89 on Baseball America’s recent Top 100. They’re No. 2 and No. 5 in the Mets’ system, according to Mets Minors.

SS Marco Vargas and C Ronald Hernandez

Vargas and Hernandez were both acquired in the deal that sent David Robertson to the Miami Marlins. Vargas hit .234 with a .666 OPS in 15 games in rookie ball following the trade before collecting eight hits in 26 at-bats for St. Lucie to close out the year. Hernandez saw much more success, posting a .995 OPS in 14 rookie ball games but hitting just .172 in eight games for St. Lucie.

Vargas finished his age-18 season with 52 walks in 53 games, contributing to a stellar .432 OBP. Hernandez was equally impressive in his age-19 season, drawing 53 walks in 53 games and posting a .452 OBP. Both players are likely to start the 2024 season in St. Lucie and will be among the most intriguing prospects in the lower levels of the Mets’ minor league system.

They were both named two of the Top 20 prospects in the FCL this year.

UTIL Jeremiah Jackson

Jackson was acquired in the trade that sent Dominic Leone to the Los Angeles Angels. Jackson posted an .802 OPS in 37 games with Binghamton, hitting seven homers and collecting six stolen bases. He finished the season with 22 homers and 27 stolen bases in 119 games, although he did strike out 144 times.

Jackson provided impressive positional flexibility in his short stint with the Rumble Ponies, making at least two starts at five different positions. He has had a consistently high strikeout rate throughout his career, but he continues to demonstrate impressive power. The Mets opted not to protect him in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Jeremiah Jackson. Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

INF Jeremy Rodriguez

Rodriguez was acquired in the trade that sent Tommy Pham to the NL pennant-winning Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .422 with a 1.247 OPS in 13 games with the Mets’ affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. The 17-year-old infielder finished the 2023 season with an .878 OPS, 18 extra-base hits, and 19 stolen bases in 51 games.

There are obviously a whole bunch of variables when discussing a player this young and this early into their career, but the early returns have all been exceedingly encouraging. Rodriguez will still be 17 through the first half of the 2024 season and will have plenty more opportunities to keep this positive momentum going.

RHP Justin Jarvis

Jarvis arrived in the trade that sent Mark Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers. He made nine starts for Syracuse, posting an 8.04 ERA across 31 1/3 innings with 36 strikeouts. He finished the season with a 5.31 ERA in 26 starts, racking up 138 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings on the mound.

Jarvis has had high strikeout rates but also high walk rates in each of the last two seasons, and he has also been very susceptible to the home run ball. He will be entering his age-24 season in 2024 with a career 8.79 ERA at the Triple-A level. The Mets opted not to protect him in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

RHP Landon Marceaux and RHP Coleman Crow

Marceaux and Crow arrived in the trade that sent Eduardo Escobar to the Los Angeles Angels.

Marceaux made six starts across three levels of the minors for the Mets, allowing 14 earned runs across 17 1/3 innings. He finished the season with a 5.50 ERA in 18 starts.

Crow did not appear on the mound following the trade and made just four starts all season, undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. He looked fantastic when he was on the mound, posting a 1.88 ERA in four starts (24 innings) with 31 strikeouts.

Crow appears to be the more complete prospect, but Marceaux has far more professional pitching experience under his belt. The Mets opted not to protect either player in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

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Veteran pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the one-two punch many salivated over, have been average at best, each going on their own hot and cold runs. Rookies Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty both got off to hot starts but have cooled down in the past month. Jeff McNeil looks nowhere near the batting champion he was last season and other veteran players have had their own troubles at the plate and field.

Tommy Pham. John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports

Start of Something New?

During a game against Philadelphia on June 23, Eduardo Escobar was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for pitching prospects Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux. Escobar lost his starting role to Baty early in the season but seemed to have figured it out at the plate before his trade. He hit .236/.286/.409 with the Mets, but so far in his short four-game tenure with the Angels, he’s 6-for-16 and batting .375/.412/.500.

The decision to trade Escobar now instead of when his value might be higher seems puzzling, but it might just be setting the stage for a trade deadline like no other. Instead of being a buyer or seller, the Mets can create a new tier of trading for teams with overflowing wallets. They trade a veteran, paying the remainder of his contract, in exchange for prospects of their choice. As a result of negating the financial concern, the Mets can buy prospects of their choosing.

Who’s Next?

It feels like nobody is safe simply because money is no object. Someone like Tommy Pham, who has quietly become one of the Mets’ most reliable bats, might be an easy trade because of his value and budget-friendly contract. Other veteran players like David Robertson and Mark Canha, also in the final years of their contracts and finding success in Queens, might be on the trading block as well.

In 38 appearances with the Mets this year, Robertson is pitching to a superb 1.54 ERA in 35 appearances. Canha, meanwhile, has been a relatively consistent bat in the lineup the past two years with defensive flexibility and can help any contender bolster their lineup or bench.

If the Mets start to embrace this new trade philosophy, star power names like Scherzer come to mind as more lucrative potential trade candidates, too.

No stranger to the trade block, Scherzer was dealt in a blockbuster move a couple summers ago with Trea Turner in exchange for a slew of highly coveted prospects. While he hasn’t been putting up consistent numbers like his usual self, you know what to expect with a player like Max. To play for a contender, he would need to waive his no-trade clause. If Cohen were to ship a hefty check with Max, it’s not hard to wonder what slew of prospects the Mets can score in return.

The Future is Bright Either Way

It’s not too late to turn the 2023 season around. With the All-Star break less than two weeks away, the Mets still have plenty of baseball to play.  The pitching can figure it out. The bats can get on a hot streak. The Mets can easily clinch a spot in the postseason if everything works exactly opposite how it did through the first half of the year.

But according to Steve Cohen’s press conference on June 28, “If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline.” This is an owner who is not only looking at the present but also thinking about a team suited for sustained future success. The question is, how will they get to that success?

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Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

The New York Mets have traded veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced Friday. In return, the Mets are receiving minor league right-hand pitchers Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux.

Mets GM Billy Eppler on the deal, “The Angels had a need, and we had a little bit of a surplus. It’s a testament to Steve and his commitment to the blueprint here. …. We’re not getting these players if Steve is not covering the money.”

Escobar, beloved in the clubhouse, struggled when given the starting third base job out of the gates this season. He eventually lost it to Brett Baty, but he has been a productive bench piece for the Mets since he was moved to a part-time role. Since Baty was called up, Escobar was hitting .323/.373/.548 with three home runs, two triples and a double in 67 plate appearances. He only played 26 of a possible 57 games in that span. 

Crow is the No. 19 prospect in the Angels system on MLB Pipeline and No. 8 on Fangraphs. He has a 1.88 ERA and 0.63 WHIP in Double-A in four starts this season, but has been on the injured list since mid-May with elbow inflammation. He has 31 strikeouts and six walks in 24 innings. Last year, Crow posted a 4.85 ERA over 128 innings with 128 strikeouts and 35 walks, all at Double-A.

Crow was drafted in 2019, while Billy Eppler was the general manager of the Angels. 

Marceaux is the No. 20 prospect on the Angles system on MLB Pipeline and No. 25 on Fangraphs. He has a 4.88 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in Double-A in 12 starts this season. Last year he had a 2.98 ERA over 90 2/3 innings, almost entirely at High-A.

The Mets will be paying all of Escobar’s salary (minus prorated league minimum) this season, Andy Martino of SNY reported.

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