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The New York Mets enjoyed a successful trade deadline, and opposing teams have taken note.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale recently reported that rival executives were impressed by what Mets general manager David Stearns was able to accomplish last week.
“Sure, no one did more than San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller, but it cost him 17 prospects to get five players,” Nightingale wrote. “But no one got more by giving up less than David Stearns of the Mets, rival GMs and executives overwhelmingly say. They acquired closer Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals, setup man Tyler Rogers from the San Francisco Giants, reliever Gregory Soto and center fielder Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles, without touching their most prized prospect.”
New York currently holds the top spot in the National League East, but is less than one game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
“The Padres had to go for it because of all of the back-loaded contracts,” one rival GM said. “At some point, a rebuild is going to have to come, but for now, they’re willing to do everything it takes.
“But what Stearns did was a stroke of genius. They traded away a lot of bodies, but no real prospects. Stearns had a hell of a deadline.”
The Mets did not surrender assets such as shortstop Jett Williams or starter Jonah Tong. But, they were still able to make impactful additions.
“The story of this deadline, for us, is really an amateur talent acquisition and player development story,” Stearns told SNY. “Our amateur talent acquisition departments and player development group put us in position to have this type of deadline, where we were to go out and acquire players that would help us in the major league level and not touch some really high-upside players at the top of our system. Enormous credit to them.”
Helsley, Rogers, and Gregory Soto will fortify the team’s bullpen. Mullins has a proven track record, and should lengthen one of baseball’s most dangerous lineups.
