David Schoenfield hands out grades as the New York Mets acquire 41-year-old LHP Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league C/1B/3B Matt Dyer and RHP Tommy Hunter in the defending AL champions' second MLB trade deadline move in as many days.
New York Mets: C
The Mets have churned through 15 different starting pitchers in 2021 -- tied with the Marlins for most in the majors -- and recent starters have included Jerad Eickhoff, Robert Stock, Tylor Megill, Aaron Loup and Corey Oswalt. Jacob deGrom, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, Jordan Yamamoto, Oswalt and Stock are all on the injured list. Eickhoff started on Monday, the team made four errors behind him, and he got designated for assignment because they need to call up another pitcher. Stock started Tuesday, pitched one inning and then hurt his hamstring running out a ground ball. So, yes, the Mets were desperate for rotation help.
The 41-year-old Hill will now join his 11th team, and he's been pretty solid for the Rays, going 6-4 in 19 starts with a 3.87 ERA this season. He remains one of the most unique pitchers in baseball, relying mostly on a four-seam fastball that averages 88 mph and that big, slow curveball, a pitch batters just have trouble hitting -- .192 this season, with just two home runs in 151 at-bats. He's not going to pitch deep into games -- he's gone more than six innings just twice and reached 90 pitches just five times -- but the Mets will happily take a five-inning starter at this point. Hill has had various injury issues throughout his career, but he didn't miss a turn with the Rays, although it should be noted that he has started on four days of rest just five times.
So why would the Rays trade Hill? He's making just $2.5 million -- the same as Hunter (who is injured and included just to offset salaries), so affordable even by Rays standards. Hill hasn't been as effective since the ol' sticky-stuff crackdown, however, with a 5.40 ERA in seven starts since June 12, with a poor 28/17 strikeout-to-walk ratio and seven home runs in 33.1 innings. Not surprisingly, he's had a major dive in spin rate as well. The Mets may not have given up much here (Dyer is hitting .194 in Class A), but they may not have gotten much more than a back-end starter to chew up some innings -- which, to them, has value.
Tampa Bay Rays: C+
As for the Rays, they see something they like in Dyer. He comes with the requisite positional versatility, as he has started games this season at catcher, first base, third base and right field. A fourth-round pick in 2020 out of Arizona, he hit .393 as a sophomore in 2019, albeit with limited power (four home runs in 168 at-bats). Still, he's a big guy at 6-foot-4 and has hit seven home runs for St. Lucie in the league formerly known as the Florida State League, not an easy place to hit, so there is some power potential. Basically, this is a long-term roll of the dice, a player who is several years from being 40-man-roster material and, since the Rays had soured on Hill, a player worth dealing for.
It will be interesting to see how the Rays handle their pitching, especially since they just traded two Triple-A pitchers and potential call-ups in Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman to acquire Nelson Cruz. Luis Patino was just called back up and started Thursday, so he looks like a full-time rotation option right now. Chris Archer is also rehabbing in Triple-A and pitched three innings on Thursday. Another possibility in a couple weeks is Shane Baz, currently in Japan with the Olympic team. He's not on the 40-man roster yet but has a 1.96 ERA in five starts in Triple-A with 33 K's in 23 innings and as earned rave reviews for the dominant quality of his stuff.