“ONE HIT…THAT’S ALL WE GOT?? ONE GODDAMN HIT??”
New York Mets strike first in the in July Trade Deadline Wars, beating out the Phillies & Dodgers for one of the best RP on the market.
Orioles acquired:
Cameron Foster – RHP ( AAA – Syracuse Mets )
David Stearns completed his first “Trade Deadline” acquisition for the 2025 season, and it was a “shot heard round the diamond”, acquiring Soto from the Baltimore Orioles, arguably one of the most talented left-handed RP available, who was highly coveted by every potential contender, except the Brewers.
Soto not only fills a huge need in the Mets bullpen, Soto also adds an entirely new dimension to the bullpen they didn’t have even when A.J. Minter was healthy.
HIGH. OCTANE. HEAT.
Soto is one of the hardest throwers in baseball, averaging 97 MPH with his fastball & sinker, tops out at 99-100 MPH & complemented with a plus slider. His “true value” isn’t derived from his current 2025 statistics, Soto’s “true value” is derived from the numbers listed below:
Four at-bats: 4 strikeouts
Three at-bats: 3 strikeouts
Three at-bats: 2 strikeouts
Three at-bats: 1 strikeout
1 hit.
“One hit…That’s all we got?? One goddamn hit??”
Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, & Muncy were a combined { 1 – 13 : 10 K’s } versus Tanner Scott during the 2024 playoff series versus the Padres. Dodgers acquisition of Scott last winter was based on “necessity”, the massive overpay was purely motivated from FEAR. Bryce Harper & Kyle Schwarber, are a combined 2 or 12, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, and only 1 RBI versus Scott. Point being, our potential biggest threats for getting to the World Series, can be neutralized by a relief pitcher who has ELITE fastball velocity & a plus slider. Enter, Soto.
That is what Soto adds to the Mets bullpen, and the fact Stearns was able to bring this dimension for the cost of a SINGLE, albeit hard-throwing prospect pitching in Single-A, is an ABSOLUTE STEAL.
Did Stearns have to pay multiple high-level prospects like the Padres did last July in Scott trade?
No.
Did Cohen have to shell out $80 million & a draft pick for a RP who only had 1 great season?
No.
Did the Mets trade away prospect who was acquired for a significant financial expenditure?
No. ($70,000 signing bonus for Aracena : 2022 I.F.A.)
Ipso facto, this acquisition was an absolute steal.
This is coming from me, Angry Mike, “THE PROSPECT HOARDER” of “prospect huggers”, telling you, despite Aracena being a fine prospect, this trade was grand larceny and a power move!
- Mets acquire one of the hardest throwing lefties in the game.
- Mets acquire their biggest need, by spending the bare minimum in prospect capital.
- Mets acquire one of the most highly coveted trade assets currently available.
- Mets prevent the Phillies from acquiring their #1 trade target.
- Mets prevent the Dodgers from fortifying their beleaguered bullpen.
- Mets prevent the Cubs from improving their biggest weakness, their bullpen.
- Mets prevent the Yankees from fortifying their bullpen.
The fact the Stearns was able to check this many boxes should help every Mets fan instantly get over the fact we traded an exciting prospect who was undoubtedly on the rise. The fact it only cost us Aracena, reiterates how deep our farm system is and I can confidently tell you we already replaced Aracena with someone better, Peter Kussow, 4th RD of the 2025 draft. #LFGM
Wellington Aracena | (20 years old) | RHP ( Low – A : St. Lucie Mets)
- Signed as an international 17-yr old I.F.A. (2022) for $70,000
- Averages 97 mph with his 4seam FB – tops out at 100 MPH
- Cutter is also an above average pitch
- Some still view him as having considerable reliever risk
“ALWAYS THE MISSION. Before the man…”
~ Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore | 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment
11 comments:
First of all, welcome to the site.
I can't find a negative in this one...
Two low level mid to lower range Mets prospects for a two-time All-Star lefty that hits 98
Don't care about his BB/9%. Walk three an inning if you want, as long as you give up no hits and get three batters out.
Soto was one the few quality vet lefty relievers on the market and in my opinion a huge get based on what it cost.
Welcome angry Mike
I am always on we have to scout our team better than someone else
As long as non turn into a top arm
Good trade
If any turn into a top closer or greater than starter depth for a b reliever
Then awful trade
Time will tell
Hi Mike, Welcome aboard.
Like your take on the trade, wasn't really thinking about what we were preventing.
There's no awful here
If he sucks very little loss
Looks like a great trade. Let’s win a World Series.
Mike crushed it! Clash Bandicoot here. Keep up the great work as always and im now subscribed
Thank you very much! Excited to be to join Mack’s Mets. Exactly what I was thinking, if Hefner can help to elevate some of the pitchers he’s worked with in the last couple years, he has a lot to work with in regards to Soto. We gave up a nice prospect but Soto is a rare commodity who could’ve easily fetched more in prospect capital.
Thank you Eddie! Obviously if he underperforms it’ll be tougher to justify trading Aracena. But another way to possibly look at it is that Aracena became expendable when we were fortunate enough to sign Kussow & Lohman from the 2025 Draft. Kussow especially looks very polished and should move as quickly as Tong did, potentially helping to fill the void created by Aracena. Anything we get from Soto is a bonus from that standpoint.
Thanks Joe! Obviously that doesn’t ring true with every type of asset or player, but when you’re talking about a commodity as rare as LH RP who has plus-plus velocity combined with the fact he was attainable for reasonable prospect capital, that makes this acquisition a huge coup for the Mets. It also speaks to the depth in our system if we didn’t even have to touch one of our upper level prospects.
Exactly, having a lot of great prospects is fun, but using them to acquire guys who can legitimately add a new dimension to your roster and get you closer to a World Series win should always be the focus!
Thank you Clash for subscribing and your continued support! We have a lot of content the works about the minors & our prospects that I haven’t posted on X yet, so you’ll definitely enjoy what’s in the works! LGM!
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