Mets trade second baseman Neil Walker to the Milwaukee Brewers for player to be named later

After almost two years in orange and blue, Neil Walker is returning to the NL Central in the middle of a pennant race

[Update 9-12-17]

Exactly one month after the trade that sent Neil Walker to the Brewers, the Mets have received their compensation.

Right-handed pitcher Eric Hanhold is in his third year as a pro and pitched in high-A ball in 2017. The Mets are adding yet another arm in their bullpen for the future. We will see how many of them pan out.

[Original post]

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal is revealing the Mets have agreed to send second baseman Neil Walker over to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman also confirmed the move.

The Mets have had some difficulty dealing Neil Walker this year. A report earlier in the week suggested a couple of teams, including the New York Yankees, wanted Neil Walker, but ultimately chose to go another route and used the excuse of his medical reports to back out of the trade.

Walker hasn’t had an absurdly good year offensively, but it’s been respectable enough that made him an interesting player for a few contending teams. In 2017 so far, Walker is hitting a line of .264/.339/.442 with 10 home runs and 36 runs batted in.

The totals may seem low to the average fan, but he did miss considerable amount of time with a hamstring issue earlier in the year. 

Overall though, Walker has actually had a decent second year in Queens, so the Brewers will be picking a very talented infielder. Not only has his offense been consistent, he’s also developed nice versatility at a couple of extra positions.

The Mets had Walker play first base for the first time in his career this past week, and he’s also played third base quite handedly. This type of usefulness will surely help the Brewers out as they try to catch the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

The report was officially confirmed by the Mets late Saturday night. The official return for Walker won’t be revealed for some time though, as it’s officially for “a player to be named later.” The Mets are apparently eating some salary which is a bit surprising since they’ve looked to dump as much salary as possible this deadline. 

Next: Mets should bring back Terry Collins

Taking Walker’s spot on the 40-man roster is rookie Kevin McGowan. The 25-year-old’s contract was picked up the Mets on Sunday morning.

McGowan was 5-4 with four saves and a 4.06 ERA (28 earned runs/62.0 innings) in 44 games with Las Vegas this season. He went 23-25 with nine saves and a 3.90 ERA (188 earned runs/433.2 innings) in 147 career minor league games.