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The New York Mets traded southpaw Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays on a four-man deal. The Blue Jays announced the trade on Wednesday evening.
The deal, which opens up a spot in the Mets’ rotation and wipes out Matz’s $ 5.2 million salary for 2021, may herald a more serious prosecution of the free agent and defending NL winner Cy Young, Trevor Bauer.
Matz, 29, has just finished a shortened 2020 season in which he struggled to reach a 9.68 ERA in 30 2/3 innings. Matz managed to clear 14 circuits over this period. For the rest of his career, he was pretty much an average starting pitcher with a 91 ERA + and 3.07 K / BB ratio over six major league seasons. Matz has a long history of elbow and shoulder problems, and he’s never had a number of qualifying heats in a season. That said, the Blue Jays, as commendable as they have been this offseason, need rotation depth, and Matz responds to that need.
Josh Winckowski, a right-hander hopeful, is among the Mets’ returning players. Winckowski, 22, is a former 15th round player who has a 3.35 ERA and 2.76 K / BB ratio in four minor league seasons. Of his 54 games pitched in minors, 50 were pitched. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley (25, 4.40 ERA and 1.58 K / BB ratio in 13 MLB starts and eight relief appearances) and right-hander Yennsy Diaz (24, No.26 on the Jays list from MLB.com top prospects) are also heading to the Mets in Trading.
As noted above, the Mets can clean up the decks for a possible Bauer signing. Bauer, 30, is by far the most coveted arm in the 2020-2021 free agent market, and his addition to the rotation behind ace Jacob deGrom would be a huge boon to the Mets’ prospects in 2021 and beyond .
Talking about that, SNY’s Andy Martino Reports that the Mets’ offer to Bauer is for four years or less and not at levels that would set the record for highest annual salary (currently Gerrit Cole’s $ 36 million). However, according to Martino, the offer includes at least one opt-out, which would play into Bauer’s eventual desire to sign short-term deals. Given the buzz, the Mets’ willingness to invest in the roster under new owner Steve Cohen, and now the Matz swap, they must be seen as the pioneers of Bauer’s services.
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