Evaluating The Trade: Troy Tulowitzki | Chris Soto
- Let's just get right to it shall we? At 12:14AM EST this morning, the Colorado Rockies traded SS Troy Tulowitzki and RP LaTroy Hawkins to Toronto for SP Jeff Hoffman, CL Roberto Osuna, SS Jose Reyes, and SP Jesus Tinoco. This deal was straight up with no money exchanging hands. So of course people are going to ask, "What is the equivalent trade for the Mets?" Well....there is none.....at least not a complete one. I'll do my best to re-create it though
- SP Jeff Hoffman- The Blue Jays top right handed pitching prospect is a potential ace with 2 plus pitches in his upper 90's fastball and his power curveball. His 3rd pitch is a an above average change-up that keeps lefty hitters off balanced.
- Mets Equivalent- Noah Syndergaard
- RP Miguel Castro- Despite only being 20 years old, he displaced Brett Cecil from the closer's role early in the season but giving it up himself to another 20 yr old flame thrower in Osuna. With his mid 90's fastball and a devastating change-up, Castro could develop into one of the better closers for the next 2 decades.
- Mets Equivalent- Akeel Morris
- SS Jose Reyes- The Rockies do not feel that prospect Trevor Story is ready for the MLB so essentially Jose Reyes is a SS replacement for Tulo. On top of bringing 30 SB wheels, Reyes still has some solid pop in his bat and could be a legitimate threat to hit 15 HRs out of Coors Field. Getting away from the punishing turf field should also work wonders for his legs.
- Mets Equivalent- .....ummm....I got nothing....Wilmer Flores?? just for the replacement part
- SP Jesus Tinoco- A 2011 Venezuelan bonus baby, the 6' 4" 20 yr old has a ton of projectability. He already has a plus sinker that generates a ton of ground ball outs as well as swings and misses. He still needs to work on improving the breaking stuff and his change-up but if both of those pitches come around, the Rockies could have a potential #3/#4 guy here
- Mets Equivalent- Casey Meisner
- As you can see, the Blue Jays paid a HEAVY price to grab Tulo. A potential top starter, a potential top closer, a significant wild card piece, AND an MLB starting caliber player.
Evaluating The Trade: Tyler Clippard | Chris Soto
- Now that the Tulo evaluation is out of the way....lets turn our attention to the Mets trade yesterday. Sandy Alderson agreed to send SP prospect Casey Meisner to Oakland in exchange for CL Tyler Clippard + cash. The deal utilizes the Mets current SP depth in the lower minors to not only bolster the MLB bullpen, but also provides Terry Collins with a solid weapon against left handed hitters.
- SP Casey Meisner- Meisner is a very RAW prospect who could has some significant upside. When he was drafted out of high school his FB only clocked in at 86-88 mph, but he has since improved it to 92-94mph. He combines this with an ok curveball that flashes promise of being a plus pitch and a change-up that still needs some work but could potentially be an MLB average pitch. Meisner is the definition of the long term project as he still needs significant time to develop his "stuff." If he does improve he could have a solid ceiling as an 200+ inning #3 starter in the big leagues
- RP Tyler Clippard- The former Nationals set-up man, is a battle hardened veteran with 2 years of high leverage bullpen experience in the playoffs. During his 8 seasons with the Nationals and A's, Clippard has a career 2.69 ERA supported by a 10.2 K/9 rate. His superb change-up makes him particularly dangerous against left handed hitters. In his career, lefties are only hitting .183 AVG with a miniscule .571 OPS.
- Clippard should immediately step into his familiar role as a set-up man in the NL East and knows the Nationals extremely well. He is going to a ridiculously strong weapon for the Mets who suddenly have 4 closer quality arms in the bullpen.
