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The New York Mets were keen on trading a 40-year-old pitcher who missed time this year with a shoulder issue and who is making $43.3 million this year and next.
Leave it to them to give away enough money in the deal to net a significant prospect in return.
Yes, they traded Justin Verlander to his former team, the Houston Astros, with his salary and age, and even got two legitimate prospects in return.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, they received outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in the transaction.
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Astros receive: RHP Justin Verlander.
Mets receive: OF Drew Gilbert and OF Ryan Clifford.
Deal is done.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 1, 2023
Of course, New York is covering a sizable portion of the deal to get their hands on a top-100 overall prospect (Gilbert) and a top organizational guy (Clifford).
Gilbert was the Astros’ first-round pick in 2022, taken 28th overall.
He completely mashed High-A pitching to the tune of a 1.107 OPS in 95 plate appearances before earning a promotion to the upper-minors, more specifically Double-A.
There, he hasn’t been a disaster but has struggled a bit with a .713 OPS.
He offers a cool power-speed combo, with 12 homers and 10 stolen bases between the two levels this year.
His ceiling is that of a starting outfielder.
Clifford is a bit further down the development process, but one could argue his upside is even greater than that of Gilbert.
He opened the year in Single-A and had a cool .944 OPS.
A move to High-A has resulted in more strikeouts, but also in much more power: he has 16 home runs there in 250 trips to the plate and a .903 OPS.
Overall, the Mets did well to get two legitimate prospects in return for Verlander, who is still at the top of his game but carries a significant amount of risk.
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