The New York Mets did the galaxy brain prospect value move of baseball nerds' dreams by paying down the contracts of two aging Hall of Famers to effectively buy the opportunity to upgrade their farm system.
Actually, the implied prospect trade value of the two packages (Drew Gilbert/Ryan Clifford for Justin Verlander and Luisangel Acuna for Max Scherzer) almost exactly matches the money the Mets kicked in to cover the salaries, underlining New York's intentions.
While we don't really know what the next 12 months holds for the Mets, these prospects have a chance to be big league options as soon as next July. They figure to join Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos, Christian Scott and Mike Vasil in the upper levels while Kevin Parada, Alex Ramirez, Jett Williams, Colin Houck, Blade Tidwell, Marco Vargas and Jacob Reimer are in the lower levels.
Here are the names Mets fans will need to learn as Steve Cohen's team looks towards the future. -- Kiley McDaniel
SS Jeremy Rodriguez (acquired in Tommy Pham trade with Arizona Diamondbacks)
Rodriguez is a 17-year-old shortstop who has yet to come to the States, hitting .256/.371/.393 in the Dominican Summer League, where the stat line means very little. He is one of the youngest players in the league, however, starting the season at 16 years old, and was a reasonably high-profile amateur, signing for $1.2 million. -- David Schoenfield
Pham trade grades for both teams
OF Drew Gilbert and OF Ryan Clifford (acquired in Justin Verlander trade with Houston Astros)
Gilbert was the team's first-round pick last year out of Tennessee, and ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has a 50 future value grade on him. He tore up Class A to start the season with a .361 average in 21 games, but has slowed to a .241/.342/.371 line at Double-A. He's a power/speed guy with the possibility of remaining in center field, allowing the Mets to eventually move Brandon Nimmo to left field as he ages.
Like Gilbert, Clifford is a left-handed hitter with perhaps even more projectable power than Gilbert. Drafted in the 11th round out of high school, the Astros gave him second-round money to sign, and he's already outperformed their initial expectations as scouts now project 30-homer potential. At 19 years old, he's already reached High-A and is hitting .291/.399/.520 with 18 home runs across the two levels. Kiley gives him a strong 45 FV as he's limited to right field or maybe first base, but clearly the bat has a chance to be pretty special. -- Schoenfield
Verlander trade grades for both teams
RHP Justin Jarvis (acquired in Mark Canha trade with Milwaukee Brewers)
Jarvis was promoted to Triple-A in early July and has been roughed up in three outings since then. He's a righty with a four-seam fastball that runs 93-94 mph and touches 96 with unspectacular spin rates. He also mixes in a slider and curveball with what looks like a pretty over-the-top delivery.
Jarvis was not listed in Kiley McDaniel's preseason write-up of Brewers' prospects. Should he find his footing at the Triple-A level, Jarvis should make his MLB debut sooner rather than later. -- Bradford Doolittle
IF Luisangel Acuna (acquired in Max Scherzer trade with Texas Rangers)
Luisangel Acuna -- the 21-year-old younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. -- is already in Double-A, where he is slashing .315/.377/.453. He doesn't appear to have Ronald's power stroke, but Luisangel has the same flair on the bases with huge stolen base totals in the minors, including 42 in 84 games this season. McDaniel rated Acuna as the Rangers' fifth-best prospect (in an organization that McDaniel ranked as the eighth best in baseball), with a future value of 45+. -- Doolittle
Scherzer trade grades for both teams
2B Marco Vargas and C Ronald Hernandez (acquired in David Robertson trade with Miami Marlins)
In Vargas (18) and Hernandez (19), the Mets landed two hitting prospects who together are younger than Robertson. Both have been playing for the Marlins' rookie complex club, where they were the most productive hitters on the roster and both owned huge on-base percentages, for what that's worth. Vargas is the higher rated of the two, carrying a 35+ FV in McDaniel's preseason rankings. -- Schoenfield