Mets trade reliever to Angels after flurry of deadline moves

The New York Mets' roster now looks unrecognizable from its original form on Opening Day. The team even made another trade, albeit a minor one, just before the 6 p.m. trade deadline on Tuesday, sending reliever Dominic Leone to the Los Angeles Angels, per Will Sammon of The Athletic.

The Mets approached the trade deadline with an aggressive seller-mentality, parting ways with future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who were both traded by New York to the American League West division teams; Scherzer was sent to the Texas Rangers, while Verlander is now back with the Houston Astros.

Just like their division rivals, the Angels also received an asset from the Mets, with Leone packing his bags for Los Angeles.

Leone, who was signed by the Mets to a contract last May, made a total of 31 appearances in his short stint in Queens. In his most recent outing, he pitched a scoreless inning with a hit allowed in an 11-6 home loss to the Washington Nationals last Saturday.

Leone is unlikely to move the needle much for the Angels, but there's a chance for him to improve his numbers before hitting the free-agent market by the end of the 2023 MLB campaign.

He joins an Angels bullpen that is in the bottom half of the majors in terms of ERA (4.13) and FIP (4.13). At the very least, Leone is now with a team that has a much better chance to make the MLB playoffs than the Mets, who are clearly among the most disappointing clubs this year in the majors.