Bold NY Mets trade deadline deals are turning out more like we originally imagined

Not all trades are black and white. The payoff isn’t always immediate nor is the pain. When the New York Mets pulled the trigger at the 2023 trade deadline and decided to reset, their two most creative deals sent veterans Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to warring Texas teams in the AL West while paying down a large portion of each’s salary. This helped improve the return to the Mets, bringing us Luisangel Acuna for Scherzer and the pair of Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford for Verlander.

A year and a half after the trades with a full 2024 season to get to know the three prospects better, the narrative seemed to shift. Acuna was not a good Triple-A player but had a fantastic showing in limited September opportunities. Gilbert played poorly and missed a lot of time with injury. Clifford, meanwhile, took off with power once he was able to escape the notorious Coney Island ballpark that has less respect for left-handed hitters than a middle schooler does for a substitute teacher.

Yet again, the story has changed. It was looking like Clifford, the youngest and furthest from the majors, was going to end up as the best player of the three. Not so fast. Struggles in Double-A this season have him looking less like a future big league starter than previously believed. Maybe these trades were more like the way we first thought they would end up.

The pair of Mets blockbuster trades from 2023 are turning out more like the way they first looked

Obviously, the other half of the trade is now null and void. Scherzer and Verlander have battled through injuries and are now with new teams. The Texas Rangers got a championship out of it while the Houston Astros had some new memories.

Let’s go back to our immediate first thoughts from these two deals. Acuna, by name recognition, became an exciting new piece added to the farm system. Fast on his feet, he is looking like a serious contender for everyday duties at second base. He won April’s National League Rookie of the Month Award and continues to show off how he can be a high-octane player with speed, defense, and maybe even a .300 batting average.

Gilbert is still in a bit of rehab mode and not doing the level of damage we had hoped in Triple-A. After batting .215/.313/.393 last year in 246 Syracuse plate appearances, he’s doing much better in round two. An average hovering around the .250 mark and walk totals keeping up with strikeout numbers showcase how he is a more complete player. We saw Acuna struggle in Triple-A and thrive in the majors. Could the same thing happen with Gilbert?

Then there’s Clifford who is profiling much more like Dave Kingman than we’d like. He batted .228 last year and is on pace to do something similar against this season. It’ll be his walk totals and home runs we’ll pay attention to much more. So far, they’ve both been a little too light to get real excited about in 2025. Having gone through just over 400 plate appearances last year in Double-A and more than 100 deep this year, the thought was Clifford would be mashing much more than he is.

Some tried to twist the Verlander deal into being “the one for Clifford” but that’s not quite the case. When these two trades went down, Acuna was the one who received the label of being the best prospect added to the system. Could we ask for much more from him at the major league level?

All three could end up as superb big league players. Right now, just as we thought, Acuna is the star in the making, Gilbert is a wild card we can’t wait to see, and Clifford is an exciting albeit limited player we want to turn into something more.