The Mets and Marlins pulled off a late-night divisional swap on Thursday. Miami acquired veteran reliever David Robertson in exchange for low minors prospects Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez. The Fish transferred Matt Barnes to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Robertson was one of the top rental relievers on the trade market for the second straight summer. The Cubs flipped the right-hander to the Phillies at last year’s deadline, bringing back pitching prospect Ben Brown. Robertson helped Philadelphia’s run to a pennant in 2022; he’ll hope for a similar late-season push in Miami.
Signed to a one-year, $10MM free agent deal over the offseason, the former All-Star was supposed to assume a key setup role in Queens. Edwin Díaz’s freak knee injury pushed Robertson into the ninth inning unexpectedly. While much of the New York roster has underperformed, the 15-year MLB veteran had a very strong few months in Flushing.
Robertson owns a 2.05 ERA across 44 innings. He’s well on his way to what’d be the sixth sub-3.00 showing of his career. He’s striking out just under 28% of opposing hitters while generating whiffs on a quality 13.1% of his offerings. Robertson’s command had been spotty in 2022 — perhaps a reflection of rust after injuries cost him the bulk of the 2019-21 seasons — but he’s dialed the strike-throwing back in this season. Robertson has walked only 7.6% of batters faced.
He’s 14-17 in save opportunities and has picked up an additional seven holds. Robertson has dominated right and left-handed hitters alike this season and brings a rare consistency for a single-inning reliever. He’ll take on a key high-leverage role for the Fish, likely taking over closing duties. Left-handers Tanner Scott and A.J. Puk are also in the late innings. Miami’s bullpen was a bit thinner on right-handed options, so they’ll bring in Robertson one day after a swap of change-of-scenery relievers sent Dylan Floro to Minnesota for Jorge López.
The intra-division swap serves as a reminder of how disappointing the Mets’ 2023 campaign has been. New York, coming off a 101-win season and running the highest payroll in MLB history, entered the year with championship aspirations. Miami was viewed more as an upstart, a team with plenty of young talent that faced an uphill battle to finish higher than fourth in their division.
Four months later, the Marlins are buying from the Mets. Miami held a Wild Card spot for the bulk of the season. They’ve hit a cold spell, dropping nine of their last 11. They now find themselves outside the playoff picture but only marginally, as they’re half a game behind Cincinnati for the National League’s last postseason spot.
With a real chance to make the playoffs in a 162-game schedule for the first time in two decades, the Fish will deal from the low minors to add immediate MLB help. Now that they’ve fortified the bullpen, general manager Kim Ng and her staff could try to bolster the position player group in the coming days. They’ve been tied to infielders like Tim Anderson and Jeimer Candelario in recent days.
Miami appears to have some financial breathing room. Marlins’ owner Bruce Sherman implied as much a few weeks ago, and they’ll put that into practice by taking on the roughly $3.55MM owed to Robertson through season’s end. The Mets haven’t been shy about potentially paying down contracts to facilitate a better prospect return. That apparently wasn’t necessary in Miami’s case. Roster Resource had calculated the Marlins’ payroll around $103.6MM before the deal; it’ll jump past $107MM at this point.
The cash savings for the Mets will go beyond what Miami assumes in salary. Any money which New York offloads would also come with a 90% savings in luxury taxes which the club had been set to pay. The Mets save around $3.2MM in taxes and approximately $6.7MM overall.
More meaningfully, the organization adds a pair of intriguing low level talents. Vargas, 18, is a left-handed hitting infielder out of Mexico. He’d ranked 20th among Miami prospects at Baseball America coming into the season, though BA’s Josh Norris tweets that he was rising up the ranks after impressing evaluators in the complex league this summer.
The outlet’s preseason report praised Vargas’ bat-t0-ball skills and suggested he’s likely to fit best defensively at second base. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him ninth in the Marlins’ system at the end of May, similarly praising his hit tool. Vargas has a .283/.457/.442 line with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts in 33 games this year.
Hernandez, 19, is a switch-hitting backstop from Venezuela. He’s repeating the level at the complex league but raking at a .298/.464/.452 clip over 31 games. FanGraphs ranked him 24th in the Miami system, crediting his advanced hit tool and above-average arm strength. There’s ample variability in targeting players this young, but each of Vargas and Hernandez seems to have a shot at being an everyday player down the line if they develop as hoped.
That’ll be little consolation for the Mets in the short term. Moving Robertson confirms their increasingly obvious place as deadline sellers. Other potential free agents like Tommy Pham, Carlos Carrasco and Mark Canha (whose contract contains a ’24 club option) could follow Robertson out the door. The Mets may not have the appetite for a larger-scale rebuild, but their place in the standings this year has gotten too hard to ignore.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Marlins were acquiring Robertson. Rosenthal and Will Sammon first reported the Mets were receiving two minor league hitters in return. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first with the return of Vargas and Hernandez. The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed the Marlins were taking on all of Robertson’s remaining money.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
The ageless wonder.
Good trade for the marlins
How do you know that? You don’t know what they gave up lol. I know any trade where the team gets the established player ( the player you’ve heard of) is a good trade lol.
It is a “good” trade for the Marlins because for a change they are buyers not sellers.
Cohen eats humble pie and tells Robertson that it’s time to sleep with the fishes.
Turns out it was a reasonable trade. They got a great reliever that took 2 good but not great prospects. For same reliever Philly gave up Ben Brown. Ouch…. An elite arm prospect for a rental reliever.
Doesn’t matter what the outcome was. You can’t say good trade before you see the return.
You are correct. We will have to wait 6 years to judge this trade
Not a good trade for the Marlins. They keep giving away good prospect for the now moment. Vargas, Hernandez for two months of this Pitcher. They could have taken Candelario for that price. They need Candelario more than Robertson.
no you won’t if marlins get what they looking for. you can grade the marlins . then give mets. incomplete . then mostly it was a save money deal grade. .
Brown is trash
Agree, I prefer taupe.
@DarkSide830, “Brown is trash”. Sounds to me like you are coping. Typical Philly Homer trash. For as often as you comment on this site, it’s hilarious how little you actually provide worth reading.
Okay, ready comments her3 and on The Good Phight last year about Brown. He’s a tick man’s Will Stewart. Perhaps he becomes something, but I highly doubt it.
Don’t forget that Robertson is getting paid nearly 3x the amount in 2023 compared to 2022 so is a more expensive rental this time.
There’s nothing elite about Ben Brown.
@VonPurpleHayes Your team still over paid. Stop being a homer.
I’m not being a homer. Ben Brown sucks. He had a 5.10 ERA in the minors this year. I’m also not saying the Phillies won that trade. David Robertson’s Philly tenure was not as good as the stats show. He was much better for the Mets this year and much better for the Cubs than the Phillies in 2023.
Good trade for both teams. The Mets got two teenagers in complex ball with a high ceiling. Marlins got a great setup man or closer for their bullpen.
Both teams got better. The Mets long term. The Marlins short term.
Everyone is happy!
Marlins get Robertson to stabilize the bullpen again.
Mets get hope in two low-level prospects.
Robertson whopes to be in thePlayoffs now.
Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez are now getting Cooperstown votes like every single Mets prospect in history.
Not a long term good trade for the Marlins. They lack goos hitting prospects. These were two good ones and they gave them way for someone that is not an elite closer. Rather have Candelario or Arenado. Thay have the necessary material to pull an Arenado. Also Candelario solve two big problems defense and hitting. But what do I know.
Lol Mets
Cool
No lol today. They make some bad moves but giving up on this season and trading a rental isn’t one.
Shut up
It’s still lol Mets
Get a hobby, bro. Saying lolmets is neither funny nor clever, and telling people to shut up is sub-troll behavior.
I’ll disagree. Some lolmets are funny…but people that over use it, like in this case, ruin it.
It certainly is LOLmets when the team with the biggest payroll in baseball goes pawning off players at the trade deadline.
@ChuckyNJ
And it’s even funnier that they have started a fire sale with a division rival that is often bashed for fire sales!
Definitely LOLMets!
Tisk tisk tisk…@rct is so sensitive. You don’t see the fans from the otehr 29 teams get this testy when their teams are having a bad season. But of course, the other teams have never seen their team soend this much money for a bad team, in another season of the Mets being a laughing stock…and somehow continue to become laughing stocks in seasons when they aren’t the worst team in MLB and not in last place in their division.
And I’ll close tiwh this.
1986!
Lol, thanks for ascribing ‘testy’ to me. I’m fine with this. The Mets tried and thankfully recognize that this isn’t the year. Much better than two years ago when they pushed for the playoffs and gave PCA away for a few months of Baez.
Doesn’t explain why you’re obsessed with talking about the Mets, though. I’ve been coming here for like ten years and I swear you’ve been on every single article about the Mets complaining about them. Perhaps you should join that Milwaukee dude in getting a hobby because your act was old about eight years ago.
@marlin – 86’ is still one of the most talked about WS ever. Documentaries about it, books, etc. As is 69’. When the Mets win, no one does it like them.
@padam
That’s because it’s NY and Mets fans make everything they do into the greatest thing ever.
And as for 1969, that comes from absolute ignorance that people make that out to be the only Miracle Season in MLB. Ahem…the 1988 Dodgers and 2003 Marlins say hello. You know the 1988 Dodgers, right? Or does Mike Scioscia need to remind you?
12000 people a night come out to watch the play off contending Marlins. Only the A’s draw worse and look at that situation. The Marlins develop talent and then sell if off. There is nothing sustainable in Miami. 2 WS wins 2 fire sales. New ballpark sign some free agents then wait for it: Fire sale. Doesn’t suck to root for a team that doesn’t think enough of its fan base to even attempt to retain home grown stars? Where you cheering for Miggy when he got 3000? Stop worrying so much about the Mets and enjoy the Marlins winning. Just don’t bother to get know anyone if they start winning they won’t be there long.
@Chris from NJ
FYI – Jefferey Loria, Wayne Huizenga and swindler John Henry are not the owners of the team anymore.
As for the fans, while your playoff attendance numbers are seriously failed hyperbole, I will say this. I don’t go to games to watch the people attending the game. I’m not a creepy voyeur of people. I’ll leave that up to you. For me, when/if I see someone in attendance that draws my attention, I walk up and talk to her – not stalk like incels do.
Ok. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. Just pointed out the Marlins don’t draw flies and have traded away winning teams. Its gotta suck going to an empty stadium with a team in play off contention. I too go to games to watch the game not other fans. But i’d also be observant of the fact that I’m in an empty stadium…You take this way to personal dude. A creepy voyuer of people!!!! That’s a good one man. Good luck to the Marlins. Enjoy the run and the empty stadium. Parking must be great!!!
Even as a Mets fan you have to laugh at this team. I mean seriously they are a joke with a 1000 different punchlines
Wow that rain delay lasted so long, the Mets had time to trade D-Rob to Miami. All the best, hope we resign him in offseason.
And re-sign him as well.
Hope the Mets are resigned to re-sign him.
It’s funny. He was warming up to come in prior to the delay, then mysteriously wasn’t available when the rain let up.
Who else but LOLmets. Any other ballclub would have waited until after the game before trading him.
Only the Mets tell a guy to warm up to come into the game…then tell him to go pack his bags.
“Any other ballclub would have waited until after the game before trading him.”
Players get traded mid-game all the time. A famous example is the Amir Garrett-Pirates fight game from a few years ago. Puig got traded but was still in the game and was brawling and chastizing his now ex-teammates for not putting up more of a fight.
“Only the Mets tell a guy to warm up to come into the game…then tell him to go pack his bags.”
This happens all the time. Maybe if you knew anything about baseball you’d know this.
@rct
We see them as position players, and SPs, but relievers are usually held back if something is about to be finalized. Even the other positions are held back if something is about to be finalized. It’s usually done to make sure that the player doesn’t get injured.
The Mets sent Robertson to warm up while this trade was deep in negotiations. That does not happen. Only the LOLMets risk losing a trade due to risking a player getting hurt during bullpen warm-up to come into the game.
I can imagine it went like this.
Eppler: OK, I think I like that possible return. Let me check if Stevie is fine with this.
Ng: Hey you idiot! Pull him Roberston from the game! He gets injured, this trade is voided!
Eppler: Ahhh, yes! That does sound like a good idea. Someone call Buck.
Ring ring
Buck: What!?!?! Why didn’t you tell me you were about to trade him? Geez! Didn’t you guys know you’re supposed to tell me things like this so I know to hold him back so he doesn’t risk injury? What, you just found out that’s a good idea? Bye!
Buck: Hey, tell the bullpen to sit Robertson down. He needs to ice down and put bubble wrap all over him. something’s about to go down!
Bullpen Coach: What!?!? And they told you now? Who the heck is running this franchise?
Name one other time a pitcher was warming up then got told he was being traded?
name one time that you would take a marlins trade seriously when they said they would assume the full contract without a big contract going out.
Hmm … flags don’t get any whiter than that.
It’s smart to get something. He’s gone at season’s end.
Do white flags fly forever?
Not sure. These have been flying since 1986.
@MarlinsFanBase – Not really sure why you possess such an intense hatred for the Mets. It’s not like the Marlins have been an annual playoff contender or well run franchise themselves. Putting aside 2020 which was only 60 games, the last time your team had a winning record over a full season was 2009.
Good luck with David Robinson. He’s pitched well this year.
His seventh team.
Thanks for the info Peter Gammons
Thanks for the dumb comment, not.
Peter Gammons is a legend. Take it as a compliment.
True enough.
Crap.
Strange deadline so far.
How so?
Can’t wait to see what the wily Eppler got.
they’re getting a catcher and infielder who can’t hit or play the field,just a couple of warm bodies to stock the minors. this is the kind of deal I expect Eppler to make,about as exciting as a rain delay.
not really how I would describe a kid putting up a .457 obp.
It’s not fair to say they can’t hit. They have put up decent numbers. Hernandez repeated, but improved greatly.
They are lotto tickets that most likely won’t build off of their FCL numbers, like most young prospects, but they are still unknowns at this point. Too early to say they can’t hit
The point of selling off these expiring contracts is to get prospects for the future. Fangraphs has them ranked as the Marlins 9th and 24th prospects. I would say that’s a good return. They’re also both hitting well this season so I have no idea where your idea that they “can’t hit or play the field” is coming from. And they’re 18 and 19, not some 27 year old failed prospects which I would consider a warm body. Do you expect them to get Juan Soto back for a 38 year old rental reliever?
Catcher can certainly catch. Both can hit, just not for power. But it could come.
They both have very good numbers in the minors. Alas, they’re both under 20 years old with several years of development ahead of them. Don’t let a nuanced take get in the way of your base-level irrational hatred, I guess.
Just what Mets need, a catcher & SS. What about filling their real needs.
oh yeah, because stocking prospects at two premium positions is a terrible idea
What the Mets need are prospects at premium positions. This fills that need.
It’s a SS – in the defensive hierarchy, SS is #1. Generally a competent defensive SS is capable of playing any defensive position behind the pitcher.
Absolutely. Catcher and SS are at the top of the list for position players.
Are they sending Eury Perez to Mets?
…..Mets Wish!
But the marlins can’t hit the baseball…. Pitching can’t score runs …
It’s still early in trade season.
Hottest trade deadline in memory. Usually little happens until last 3 or 2 days. Very active this far out. Good amount of trades and some big ones. My guess sell now before more teams become sellers this weekend.
whoa Nellie! I was hoping the O’s would swing a trade for him as they need another set up guy and Robertson has more experience than the entire O’s bullpen and has pitched in the AL East juggernaut
oh well, good pick up for the Marlins, bravo.
I thought that Robertson and ERod to the O’s would be a good “return to the AL East” pair of pickups from Queens and Detroit. wonder who else Cohen sells off
The Mets can sign him again in the offseason and they got some prospects out of it. Marlins get a dependable reliever win-win.
I hope the Mets do re-sign him. He has said that he likes being in NY
Awww…somebody still believes in that “likes playing in NY” narrative. I didn’t know there were people still out there that think like it was the time period where there weren’t a gajillion metropolitan cities throughout the U.S.
Guys like playing whereever they’re getting paid the most.
Aww…..someone actually believes that the Marlins have a fan base. Every time the Mets play in Miami, the fan split is 50/50
To be fair, Robertson definitely likes NY. He’s played and lived there most of his career.
@Flanster
Awww…someone actually think those “Mets fans” in Miami are really Mets fans. Those are your transplants that have both Mets and Marlins jerseys in their closets, depending on NL East standings from year to year. There is not one of those “Mets fans” that don’t have World Series merchandise from 1997 and 2003.
I’ve been to a number of games in Miami and have seen firsthand who the fans are rooting for, and if the Marlins are losing , THEIR fans head out to the parking lot. Whereas Mets fans will stay until the last out, even if they are losing
All fans head to the parking lot when their teams are losing late in games. Mets fans included. There’s tons of traffic. They got to get home. Let them listen on the radio. There’s nothing special about any particular fanbase. Big cities just have more fans, not necessarily better ones.
We have all watched Marlins games and we know YOU are the only Marlins fan. When you can’t sell out opening day, the fan base is really tiny.
@Flanster
And I live here and have been to way more Marlins games than you have. And I’ve seen those seasons when the Marlins are playinf better than the Mets, and the so-called Mets fans are wearing their Marlins merchandise those years. My circle of buddies always mock the regulars we know that do that all the time when se see them and hang out.
The NY transplanted Mets fans are fairweather fans. At least the NY transplants that are Yankees fans can proudly say they root for the Marlins as their NL team, but the Mets fans are just jokes down here flipping back and forth, depending on year. After August 1st, we’ll start seeing them change again this year.
@Pads Fans
Yeah, the few you watch tell the whole story.
I bet you make must judgement based on what you see once or twice.
BTW…I find it ironic that a Pads fan is saying this about another fanbase. But I’m sure you’re one of the Pads fans wearing your Gary Templeton jersey instead of the many with their Tatis, Jr. jerseys. Right?
Not Tempy. He was never a favorite of mine. I do often wear my Gwynn, Winfield, and Eric Show jerseys from that 1984 team.
My wife and I have a closet that is devoted entirely to sports jerseys. Close to 180 in there now. We each pick a player every season and buy their official jersey. A few times its been the same player. More than once its been the same player as a previous year mostly Gwynn and Hoffman over the years. A few years its been multiple players like this year with Kim and Musgrove for me. When we have a chance to support a charity we also often buy signed, gamed used jersey’s. Gossage, Gwynn, Flannery, Kruk, Peavy, Ashby, Nevin, Loretta, Peavy Renfroe and a few dozen others.
I have also been to nearly every game the Padres have played in Miami. I think that at last count there were about 180 ticket stubs in our Marlins games book. We have old friends, people who were IN our wedding, that have lived in this beautiful oceanfront place in Coconut Grove just north of David Kennedy Park since 1994. Well, to be honest, they tore down the original house and rebuilt in 2014, but same location. Just beautiful.
As for Padres fans, over the years we have had crowds as large as 60+k in the old concrete monstrosity known as Jack Murphy even in losing seasons and obviously we sell out our home openers every season regardless of how good or bad the team since they started playing in Petco. Since 1997 the Padres have never had less than about 2 million pass through the turnstiles even though we have seen only 5 playoff teams. Can’t count 2020 since no one was in the stands. We have a vocal and loyal fanbase that shows up. That is something the Marlins can only claim twice in their history.
So no irony at all in calling out your fanbase or lack thereof.
Save some money for DeJong.
If DeJong could channel his Mets-killing abilities inward… what a signing!
You really want the Cards to trade DeJong to the Marlins, don’t you. Every post. lol
Imagine someone posting the same tired nonsense over and over
And so it begins.
Marlins need to get candelario before the cubs grab him
I think Cubs are waiting till weekend to decide on buying selling so there is time.
How did these idiots give up PCA for Baez but never get anything worth a damn when they are the sellers?
He’s a 38 year old rental reliever and they got back the Marlins 9th and 24th best prospects. I would say that’s a fair deal. Báez was a 28 Year old that recently won an MVP. I agree that they should’ve hung onto PCA but that was also a different front office.
Javy has never won an MVP. I think ur thinking of the 2018 season where he was runner-up to the Brewers’ Christian Yelich.
A lot of prospect experts on here tonight who apparently can identify if 18 year olds are any good.
I especially enjoy the ones who think repeaters in rookie ball (one of the Mets ‘haul’ just went through rookie ball for the THIRD time) who pile up a huge amount of walks against 17 yo’s who can’t get the ball over the plate, show sophisticated ‘bat to ball’ skills and are therefore advanced prospects.
Despite repeating rookie ball and losing SLG.
19 yr old international signing. That means they are acclimating to a new culture, after signing at 16. Repeating a level is not unusual in these circumstances.
So what you are saying is you don’t realize the difference between the Dominican Summer league and Complex ball? I will keep that in mind when you talk about prospects.
BTW, 67% of prospects over the past 22 years have repeated what is now FCL or ACL ball. Used to be called short season ball. Hernandez is in some pretty good company, is absolutely crushing that league, walking more than he strikes out, and is still only 19. Oh, did I forget to mention that he is a slick fielding catcher with a plus arm that is also bilingual?
He is not the 2nd coming of Fernando Tatis, but he is a good prospect to get for a 38 year old rental relief pitcher.
Baez trade was awful. You don’t part with a pca for Baez. But quality vs quantity. And Williams had some value.
@mookiesboy: Eppler didn’t make the Baez trade, Einstein.
Eppler sucks
Another catcher with Alvarez and Parada as the future ?
How about some arms Billy ??
Or they can trade the Catcher, or quite possibly Parada.
Trade Parada to the Tigers 😉
You need 2. Prospects bust. Alvarez will be near free agency by the time this kid is ready. You take best talent you can get.
Assuming that this prospect surprises everyone and is actually good enough to make MLB and be in the position to potentially replace Alvarez…and this is assuming that Alvarez doesn’t fizzle out once the league figures him out.
I knew when I saw this trade that there’d be people making both prospects out to be more than they are. Like I’ve said multiple times. It’s amazing that prospects are nothing when they’re on teams that aren’t in Boston or NY, but the second they get traded to one of the teams in those cities/states, all of the sudden those prospects are absolute studs.
Watched Eppler in Anaheim. Not impressed
I appreciate the opportunity to accept your highly ranked C prospect in this trade, but I’d really like a lesser ranked pitching prospect because bigcat20 is trolling me on-line. He likes pitchers.
2 prospects for a 38-year-old rental reliever who is gone at season’s end. Seems like a good deal to me. Who cares about the catcher? He’s 18 years old. If he plays it’ll be later the Alvarez.
Inf Marco Vargas & C Ronald Hernandez
That’s the best haul the Mets could pull!?!? Why is Eppler still calling the shots, he hasn’t made a move yet that has been good.
Robertson is in his walk year. They did the best they could in such a trade.
@Blue Baron if thats the best they could get then they shouldnt trade him at all. Its as simple as that. You dont need to help any other team out
I disagree. They have no contractual rights to him after the season, so it’s better to get something than nothing. And which teams do or don’t make it to the postseason is immaterial to the organization.
They’re technically still in it!!!! He just threw up the white flag and got nothing in return. I’m a Mets fan (unfortunately) and live in western NY but I hope NO ONE goes to their games. If they were going to trade pieces get at least some MLB ready talent or just sit on it!!!
And they saved nearly 7mil in payroll/taxes
So you suggest keeping him on a losing team, and let him walk for nothing over receiving 2 prospects for him? Mlbtr gms are the funniest
So am I and no they are not. Barring a reversal of their June record in August, what you see now is what you get. A number of underperfoming veterans who have an occasional good game and a terrible bullpen where Roberston was the only bright spot.
It’s now time for Mauricio and Vientos to get some ABs.
yes keep robinson instead of getting 2 guys who will never make it to the big leagues.
@Canosucks: They released Robinson last year. Given your username, you should know that.
You think he turned down better offers so he could trade with a team in same division?
And you don’t think Eppler hasn’t been fielding calls from 2/3rds of the rest of MLB about Roberson? The Mets minor league system, as a whole, was left for him in ruins. He’s trying to rebuild it, as per the owners request. So by making this deal he not only gained 2 viable minor leaguers, he weakened an opponent’s system.
Trading within the division always struck me as the smart way to do it. Strengthen your future while potentially weakening theirs.
Most teams don’t worry about it with these kinds of trades. Get the best deal you can from whoever.
@Ketch
Marlins trading these prospects are not weakening their farm. Trust me on that.
As for trading or not trading within a division, I’ve always felt that it goes best this way. Never trade a guy who is a stud and under 30 to a division rival because you’ll be burning yourself for a long time. Guys that are 32 and older, you trade where you get the best return – 30 or older if he’s a catcher. Never trade a prime prospect to a division rival – again, because that coule come back to haunt you for years. With replaceable players, your fine trading them anywhere if you’re not contending.
Of course it weakens the farm, they have 2 less lottery tickets. Doesn’t mean the farm isn’t still good but it mathematically weakened the farm, you don’t have to jump on any comment that remotely speaks bad on your precious marlins. You take it to personal like you are out here to defend the marlins.
Prospects are 18 and 21 in the Marlins top 30 prospects pool. Good value for both teams
As a Mets fan, smh and feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.
Twenty or so teams still in the playoff hunt, just about all of whom can use, or even flat out NEED late inning bullpen help. And this is the best the Mets could do?
And why are the Marlins paying all of Robertson’s salary? Didn’t Cohen say he was willing to eat, and even take on bad contracts in order to get a better prospect return? So why isn’t he?
Last time Mets traded a setup man all they got was a fat slob dh. I say they improving with their trades.
geofft;
And to think NYC baseball fans have the reputation of being entitled.
For shame!
Rental players don’t get high returns, with few exceptions. Two months of play isn’t as valuable as you think it is.
Except for Javier Baez
Marlins really going for it
Good to see.
I think it’d be super cool to see a Marlins/Rays World Series just to watch Manfraud squirm.
An all-Florida World Series… His will be done.
As long as a screaming foul ball takes out the nut job in charge of book banning, I’m all for it.
@Curveball1984
Yep, and to see E!SPN suffer having to cover them instead of their beloved NY/Boston coverage. Could be a good year in Florida. And a great postseason in MLB without any NY or Boston teams.
Of course, E!SPN and FOX Sports will be sad, but that will be enjoyable too.
@whyhayzee
I’m for that. But then again, I’m for him not showing up to the games because we don’t need his garbage to take away the parade from the Rays and Marlins. Let him go join his other fellow internalized bigot Rafael Eduardo “Ted” Cruz at a Texas playoff game. Let him use one of his immigration planes to fly over. And hopefully flown by a pilot who can’t read.
Stick to sports. And only books that are porn got banned.
Rangers and Braves desperately could have used him
Mets and Braves trades are very hard. Don’t think the Mets would want to see another Braves World Series championship. Very surprised they traded to the marlins especially for such young prospects
I don’t think the Mets want to see the Marlins fly another banner either. That would put the Marlins ahead of the Mets in total…in far less years. And actually place the Marlins ahead of every MLB expansion franchise.
You’re not wrong, nobody wants to see division rivals win a title. But I (and I’d wager most other Mets fans) would rather see the Marlins do it than the Braves – especially a Marlins team like this year, a plucky underdog type of squad.
@MarlinsFanBase: I would love to see the Marlins in the World Series. My $50 bet on them at +2400 odds to win the NL is my money talking while BS is walking.
@Blue Baron
If this happens, you need to come down here and treat us Marlins fans to a celebratory dinner.
Don’t know about desperately. Strong return but they could have beat it. Plenty of other relievers available.
Yeah, should help their attendance, went to Miami in June, saw the Marlins beat the Royals and Greinke, Marlins are a “legit” team now.
@yourdream
Could have, but didnt.
Does this mean Verlander shipping out too?
If he is willing and other teams want him. I feel it’s a fire sale on rentals and old guys.
Where is Verlander getting shipped out? Who would want him? Hes due around 60 mil, not even including his potential player option which would stretch it to a potential 100 mil for a 40 year old pitcher. Only idiot GMs like Eppler give out those contracts
Bad contract but Cohen said he was willing to eat $. Thought I seen Giants article. You can trade anyone if you are determined enough.
@LFGMets: Idiot GM? What experience do you have in that role?
Maybe when you become a GM, we’ll see if you can do better. It’s easy for you to sit on your butt and criticize professionals actually doing the job.
Watched Billy in Anaheim for years. He ain’t that good. There are better
I’m sure there are. It’s just dumb for armchair QBs who haven’t done the job to call them idiots.
Perhaps sometimes “dumb” but necessary
That was then. People learn, sometimes improve. Sometimes they have the same title but different resources.
I could see both Texas teams picking up the phone and asking on JV. Cubs have always had a soft spot for Verlander as well, and could easily afford him.
@LFGMets (Metsin7)
I wouldn’t blame Eppler for the contracts. Those were Cohen decisions.
@Ignorant Son-of-a=b He’d better be, otherwise Robertson was their best trade chip and Eppler could only get the #18 and #21 prospect from a weak Marlins’ farm system. If they only get worse from there and they aren’t dealing Verlander, it was absurd to get low-level prospects and sacrifice a return to respectability and a 1 in 7 shot (Baseball Prospectus gives the Mets a 1 in 4 chance) of reaching the postseason.
B for Mets! I gave them so lower grades when buying but hey that can sell. A legit catching prospect. Both kids have advance bat ball and approach. Nice prospects to add to system. Lack of power keeps them from being elite but they have room to add some. No pitcher and a 2b keeps it from being a. Catcher keeps it from a C.
C for Miami. Heck of a proven arm. I think they paid a fair price.
This is a good deal for the Mets. These are 2 guys who could rise up the rankings. Both showing advanced plate discipline for their age. At minimum, it’s further trade capital for the off-season to add elsewhere.
They’re repeaters in the rookie league. You don’t want to see a huge pile of walks against thoroughly undisciplined 17 year old pitchers, you want to see added power, hitting for higher average, substantial improvement in the field and on the bases, a player growing into his frame or a tall scrawny kid putting on muscle.
JackStrawb,
How you been my brother? When JackStrawb talks I listen.
They are so young and so far away that they are lottery tickets who won’t help the Mets for many years. Is this the best Eppler could do for a top closer with the best cutter in MLB as a disciple of the great Mariano?
I don’t think so!
Wild the Rockies can get the Braves’ number 10 overall prospect plus more for Pierce Johnson who is also a rental and has a 6.00 ERA while the Mets scrape the number 18 and 21 prospects from the Marlins. Seems like a small return when there’s still until Tuesday to try and capitalize. Wild trade.
The Marlins system is better. Much better.
Is it though?
Yes.
Rankings are subjective. Its what actually comes through a teams farm system that actually counts, and other than a handful of pitchers the Marlins havent developed a single position player in their system in years, whereas the Braves are the class of the NL mostly because of theirs. Id hardly say the Marlins is better.
Both guys were top 10 Marlins organizational prospects, but not listed there yet by mlb. Hernandez was especially talked about the last couple of years, but both were pretty well spoken of. If you’ve seen them play, you would know why that is too. It’s pretty evident when you see them, even though they’re so far from the big leagues
They are so far from the big leagues and will not even crack AAA.
what a bad trade for the Mets and 2 positions they don’t even need in the far future? How about a CF instead?
SS can’t ever play CF as they progress up to the majors?
I guess he was making too much money for the D”backs to make an offer, all I hear out here is boo-hoo were a small market team, so we have to wait till the throw away closers are available.
Good trade for the Marlins. I’m surprised the Mets traded with a division rival, though it’s pretty obvious they are waving the white flag regardless.
That’s a myth that may have been more relevant in past. If you are swapping super stars and elite prospects it has more merit. Rentals most teams don’t care.
That’s not exactly true. If the Mets are trading their current closer to a division rival this late in the season, they are clearly waving the white flag on this season. Had the Fish had this record last year, and the Mets had the Marlins record this year instead of the current one they have — no way Robertson gets traded to anyone in the N.L. East.
Mets wouldn’t be trading their closer at all if they thought they were going to make the playoffs. Let’s say they would then it would be for one or two of Miami’s mlb players. Not for prospects.
Seattle traded their closer to division rival Houston in 2021 while contending for playoffs.
And Milwaukee traded Hader last year while still in contention. Granted, he was in the midst of a terrible run, but it was still a surpise.
Perhaps the biggest difference was, Milwaukee thought they had someone who could fill Hader’s shoes. There is not one reliever in that pen who has been anywhere near as valuable as Robertson has been.
Mets are Open for Business. Max going to LA. Verlander going to SF. Anybody else they can Offload ?
Not so sure about Max. I can see JV being shipped but they will have to eat most of his salary.
Going by rate of usage (Robertson has appeared in 40 of the Mets 102 games), Robertson will appear in ~25 games for the Marlins. So for 20-30 innings of Robertson, the Mets got two very young lottery tickets who are playing well in the minors.
Solid trade for both teams. Good luck to the Marlins. D-Rob is a great pitcher and a great teammate.
This was a good trade for the Mets. Vargas is a top talent they added to the system. And only for two months of Robertson
No sorry, bad trade for the Mets; 2 players who won’t even crack AAA
Ng has done an exceptional job of building that team into a playoff contender. Amazing how fast it happened once Jeter and his cabal was gone.
In fairness Jeter claimed that once the youth was MLB-ready, that Sherman promised he would let him spend to build a contender. Sherman nickel & dimed him one too many times, so he bailed. Ng is simply reaping the rewards of a team Jeter helped build. And that “cabal” were all New York investors who ASKED Jeter to do what he did.
The Silly Mets are the Fishs beeyatch now heh
My rays sit on there hands and do nothing. They could have a sp and closer they want to go deep in October attendance is up do something wish we had the Mets owner probably get a player who plays triple a marlins spent money don’t be like pirates or Cleveland or Oakland .
Rays already had Robertson in 2021. They lost.
back in March when Cohen was recklessly spending money and was the darling of the boards, especially among Yankee fans who were using it as leverage against “cheap” Hal,
I simply posted we will see how really good this Mets team is.
Now we are finding out.
This a warning to all, that money can buy big names, but it can’t buy a winning team,
In honor of the Grinch
“Maybe winning, he thought, cant be bought with a money store. Maybe winning, perhaps, takes a little bit more.”
This is a silly assessment, especially from a Yankees fan. The fact is that teams who spend more win more. Go look at all of the teams who made the playoffs last year and take a look their payrolls. Teams like the Rays are the anomalies. Even the Braves have a massive payroll.
Ever heard of “the worst team money can buy”? That was the 1992 Mets.
Indeed, there’s nothing preventing big spending teams from being smart AND big spenders. But becoming smart doesn’t happen overnight, especially considering where the Mets were starting from at the end of the Wilpons tenure. It takes time to, first, develop and, then, figure out how best to utilize an analytics department, for instance.
Are there concerns regarding Cohen as an owner? Sure. He gives off meddling vibes and can seem impulsive from time to time. And we don’t have a big enough sample size to know how great his hiring acumen. But having that big of a wallet certainly doesn’t hurt so long as one also pays enough attention to the little details.
The usual bad Billy Eppler trade. The only viable reliever on the team and you trade him for no name prospects. 400 million dollar payroll and the team isn’t even close to a wild card spot. I’ve been saying this before the season even started. You can’t have this guy run your team, hes the worst GM in all of sports. So lets see what I was right about. I was right about Brandon Drury (Mets got rid of him to make room for Gsellman, not even a major league pitcher anymore), right about Drew Smith being one of the worst pitchers in baseball, right about the Mets wasting money 40 mil on Verlander, right about how they should of gotten Chapman and Candelario and JD Martinez (all having career years or close to it, right about Gary Sanchez, right about how Vogelbach should be at a buffet not a major league baseball team, right about how the Mets shouldn’t of traded JD Davis for Ruf, right about Muckenhirn and Dennis Santana and Dominic Leone all being no good, right about Lindor being the most unclutch player in baseball, right about not signing the second least clutch player in baseball (Conforto), etc. There is more but thats just what I was right about going off of the top of my head. Billy EFFler, because he EFFs everything up
Wow. You have patted yourself on the back so many times you must have black and blues all over. So Mister Crystal Ball, put your skills to the test and tell us who do you keep? Baty? Alvarez? Vientos? Butto? Parada? McNeil? Canha? Mauricio? And where do you play Mauricio? SS? 2B? LF?
Just curious about your talent evaluation skills. You always have some interesting insight. And that is part of the GM job as well.
The Mets now should keep going and get something for Pham. Where do you stand with Marte? And Peterson? And Megill?
There have been a lot of underperforming veterans on this team the Mets this year.
Where should they go next year. Remember, you need to keep an active roster together, and fill the rest of the 40 man with prospects/replacements.
Dang, an inner division trade! I wish the braves would have pounced on him! The braves have been very quiet outside of acquiring Taylor hearn and pierce johnson, neither of whom move the needle. I hope the stove starts to heat up for us because one thing is for sure, and that during this cold streak coming out of the all star break the braves seemingly flawless roster has some holes that need to be addressed, the bullpen being one of them. Yes we have players coming back from injury but an extra arm out of the pen will definitely be needed for the rest of the season. Possibly another starter so we aren’t relying on rookies and bull pen games come playoff time. And with Ozuna and Rosario having cooled off tremendously another left field/dh type player should also definitely be on the list. And shoot maybe even a utility infielder to spell some of the regulars from time to time to keep them fresh. I trust in as and I hope he doesn’t let the fan base down because we already have a tremendous roster. If we can fill the few holes we do have, we will have a serious chance at competing for the world series this year.
The object is not to move the needle. The object is to keep it where it is. Best record in baseball. You can’t go anywhere but down. So stay up.
I agree with your statement. But the braves are cold as can be right now and if we do t break this slump teams will start chipping away at our lead by the end of the season. So it’s best to add to the already good roster and fill the few holes it does have to make sure we can sustain our first half success. We are slumping bad right now and it has shown that we do still need a few players going forward to be a huge threat come playoff time. We shouldn’t sit idle and just be a normal threat, we should add and make sure when the playoffs roll around our team is scary and can get it done. We will break out of this slump, but what if another me of these slumps happen in the playoffs? We need a few players to make sure that might not be a possibility.
Bitter sweet move for the Mets, nice pickup for the Marlins.
Wow, the Marlins are spending like drunken sailors this year (by their standards).
Solid pickup though, nice to see the Fish in the hunt again.
One of the best pickups so far and he is going to team that probably want see the Postseason this Year. Smdh
This is what I said would happen. Didnt cover the spot in the offseason, and then you trade important organizational depth at certain positions, while obviously far from the big leagues, but guys that had high pedigree the last couple of years, for a guy they could have signed multiple times. Could have covered for the bullpen so much earlier, and now they wait until they lose 9 straight to address anything…
Just more classic Marlins.
It’s almost bizarre–until you realize it’s Eppler.
Last year the Cubs had Robertson, he was giving them a season almost as good as he’s giving the Mets in 2023, and at the deadline the Cubs sent him to the Phillies for a high-performing starting pitcher (exactly what the Mets need in their system) in high-A, Ben Brown, who the Cubs promptly promoted to AA, and who in 2023 is now having a promising year in AA and AAA. Brown is currently the Cubs #3 prospect—and that’s for a team with a top farm system.
Instead of a similar return, Eppler got the Marlins’ #18 and #21 prospects, a system that fg ranks #23 of all 30 MLB farms.
Without a doubt, Robertson is a truly talented pitcher. I’ll miss watching him in a Mets uniform.
That said, I’m anxious to see what we acquire from the selloff. It’s what this team simply doesn’t have enough of; young productive players.
I’d have been happier hearing we acquired outfielders instead of yet another shortstop and catcher, but I also realize they are a rare commodity and could be used to trade for what we need, in the near future.
Far worse than this is that after three years at the helm, according to fangraphs’ listing, Steve Cohen’s Mets farm system has rocketed from #23 all the way to…
#21.
That’s what the $363 million payroll (after a $275 million payroll in 2022 and a $220 million payroll in 2021) was ostensibly buying: time to restock the farm system. Congratulations, Steve—in 30 years, you’ll be #1.
JackStrawb;
Between Cohen and Eppler…..who knows?
What we do know is that no FO person worth a darn will even waste their time interviewing with the Mets. Going there is a career killer.
Does that factor in recently-graduated top prospects?
The Fat Lady has Sung!
Stick a Fork in the worst Mets Season ever as the most expensive team in MLB history has now surrendered to the budget Marlins by offloading their best player who should have been their only All Star. 2023 Mets are now officially a FAILURE LOL Off with their Heads
Marlins are jobbers.
Cheap for Miami, but still decent short-term for NYY (cash and prospects)- the concern is teams may see the Mets’ FO as weak now.
A team shoring up their bullpen. What a concept.
Some teams prepare, others sit on their hands and hope.
17th Round draft pick, 771 appearances later, 20BWAR, consistently effective, not a bad career at all. $80M for doing it also not bad.
Things to remember.
While everyone looks at prospect rankings that doesn’t always tell the story. These teams have their own scouts and each team will have different evaluations on players. The Mets may have looked at this guys and had them ranked higher than outside rankings. It’s very likely if you had each org rank another orgs prospects they wouldn’t be the same.
When you look at kids this young they are usually not ranked very high unless they showed true star potential. Those type of prospects are extremely hard to get. Most likely in a year or two if these two prospects stayed on track they would be higher ranked in the marlins system. The gamble of taking two such young guys is much higher but the potential payoff can be much higher. This one will take years before we know if it worked out for the Mets.
With that said Robertson maybe the best reliever traded this deadline depending on who else becomes available…like hader.
So I’m a little surprised they settled for two upside lotto tickets. This is a real sellers deadline and they may have been able to get a little more if they waited until the deadline was closer. Deadline makes team do stuff they don’t really want to do. That’s a big reason why you don’t see a ton a trades this many days beforehand.
So based on reports that this is a sellers market it’s an underwhelming return for the Mets. Obviously one of these lotto tickets may pan out. So doesn’t mean it’s a failed trade.
I just think Robertson is having another great year and is someone you can rely on during a playoff run. Return seems light for me. The risk for the marlins here is definitely worth taking.
So good work marlins and a little meh on the Mets side. Sometimes meh turns to gold though.
Heathcliff Slocumb, Larry Andersen, David Robertson. That would be fun if it happens.
Some years things just don’t work out and that’s this year for NYM. Fans should recognize this and be at peace with dealing expiring contracts, so long as they get market value return. NYM remain barren of arms and OF prospects at AAA. It’s been a glaring ongoing problem since the last wilpon era GMs gutted the farm. They need to address that with these deals if they can. Tho probably just Scherzer and Cohen eating his contract will bring something resembling an MLB ready somewhat high ceiling player
Robertson was terrible with the Phillies. Running on fumes after being overworked with the Cubs. I don’t like this trade for Miami since Robertson’s velocity looks down in the last couple of outings.
How has Cohen been duped by this idiot Eppler? Trading Robertson in division and getting $hit prospects for him? We need to get rid of Eppler and find a real GM before we will ever get better. Next up he will get rid of JV for 2 washed up players and a 45th round pick in 2035.
imho eppler was hired in part because of his relationship to ohtani. if the mets don’t land ohtani eppler loses a lot of his added value
Seems fair. I don’t think that much of Robertson, but Miami needed a legit everyday closer,
Just throwing this out there. If the Mets would eat 1/2 of his contract would the Tigers be smart to bring Verlander back to Detroit for the last 2 years of his career? Tigers send Wilmer Flores (the other Wilmer Flores….his little brother) and Parker Meadows to Queens.
Would either side do it?
somewhat surprised that the mets are going to be sellers and somewhat impressed that cohen has accepted the truth of their situation
@19tyler92,
Angry much?
I think this is a good move for the Mets. Other teams are going to be close to making the playoffs but fall short of it, it’s a nice pipe dream, but with a farm system that needs a lot of improvement and contracts ending this year, this was a sensible move. I was curious if Mets would hold on and try a playoff run but this all but verifies they are looking toward 2024. As a braves fan, I understand the need for farm system fills, we’ve used ours quite extensively but AA has a good track record for giving up little for long standing needs.
I am all for selling as a long time Mets fan but getting 2 guys with no path to the Majors is a waste.
Not the deal I would have made. I don’t think the Mets’ season is lost. This level of selling is excessive.
As a Met fan I’m appalled at this trade. The season is far from lost and over and they decide to trade the teams closer. Mets were initially extremely fortunate to have Robertson to cover for Diaz after that freak accident/injury during the WBC. The team didn’t have to scramble for a replacement as they already had one. And what do they do, give him away for two guys that may or may not amount to anything at all. I don’t get it. Bad look tor the Mets.