The New York Mets had themselves quite a busy week in the lead-up to the trade deadline. They made plenty of moves, but one that could make the most impact is their acquisition of starting pitcher Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics. Trading for Blackburn shows that the Mets are attempting to bolster a pitching staff that has not quite gotten the job done on a consistent basis outside of Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.
Blackburn isn't what someone would call a top of the rotation starter. He projects as more of a back-end, veteran piece to round out the rotation, so it's not like acquiring the 30-year-old starter vaults the Mets, a team that's currently in second place in the congested NL Wild Card picture, into surefire playoff territory. But for his former Athletics teammate in Manaea, Blackburn's professionalism and consistency would help give the Mets some much-needed rotation stability.
“I played with him for a few years. [He brings] consistency [to the table]. He's very consistent with his actions and the way he pitches. He's pretty quiet but he brings a consistent behavior — a good person to have,” Manaea told reporters, via SNY on X, formerly known as Twitter.
On the season, Paul Blackburn is pitching to the tune of a 4.41 ERA across 51 innings of work (nine starts). His performances have been worth a cumulative 0.3 WAR, according to Fangraphs. With the injury to Christian Scott, Blackburn will be competing with the likes of Tyler Megill and David Peterson to fill the back-end of the Mets' starting rotation.
The Mets were very aggressive on the trade market
Acquiring Paul Blackburn from the Athletics was just one of the Mets' many moves as they prepare for the looming stretch run. The Mets added one of the best hitters available on the trade market in Jesse Winker, doubling down on production at the plate which has proven to be their greatest strength throughout 2024.
Meanwhile, they also added a plethora of bullpen arms; for a team with playoff aspirations, one can never have enough quality relievers to shut the door in the latter innings. They acquired four bullpen arms, the most promising of which is Huascar Brazoban, who, despite already being 34 years old, is only getting better.
The Mets knew that they could not afford to rest on their laurels. They may currently be sitting in a playoff spot if the season ended today, but with 55 games left for them to play this season, they are hoping that the reinforcements they brought in will be enough for them to hold off the other playoff hopefuls.
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