This NY Mets-Brewers trade can try to make up for one of Billy Eppler’s worst deals

One of Billy Eppler’s worst New York Mets trades happened in the summer of 2022. While many trade deadline moves were a miss, the one for Tyler Naquin was a huge whiff. He hit just .203 for the Mets and ended up playing often due to the Starling Marte injury. Overshadowed because of Darin Ruf’s ineptitude, Mychal Givens’ bad first impression, and the way the season ended with a thud in the first round, the Naquin trade is the one that is about to age poorly.

For Naquin, the Mets gave up two young players. Hector Rodriguez, now in Triple-A and the fourth best Cincinnati Reds prospect, and Jose Acuna, a pitcher now in Triple-A as well, were the pairing for Naquin. Neither were significant Mets prospects at the time. Both not even able to legally buy a round for the rest of the roster then, the teenage duo would have certainly been nice to have even if the purpose was to send them elsewhere.

David Stearns can make up for that increasingly painful trade by calling up his former club. The Milwaukee Brewers are a candidate to reunite with Tyrone Taylor due to some recent injuries. If interested, this trade offer from the Mets might be sneaky enough to make up for the failed Reds deal from 2022.

Why this trade is worth it for the Mets and Brewers

Taylor isn’t going to fetch much on the trade market. A 19-year-old pitcher, Derlin Garcia, plus a 19-year-old outfielder, Frandy Lafond, is definitely worth everyone’s time. Neither are upper echelon prospects. We can forget about that. For Taylor, it’s a random flier who was once ranked highly on his last leg or a duo under 20 worth a trade.

Garcia has a 3.82 ERA in 30.2 innings this season in the Dominican Summer League. While not incredibly noteworthy, it’s the control, 3.2 BB/9, and the 10.6 K/9 rate that’ll have us eager to add him. Those walk and strikeout numbers aren’t much different from his first professional season in 2025 when he had a 1.86 ERA.

Lafond is in his third professional season and finally breaking out. He’s hitting .346/.446/.487 with a pair of home runs. His lifetime numbers in the Brewers’ system includes a .261/.405/.398 slash line. He isn’t all that powerful, but has stolen 37 bases in 44 tries. The athleticism and growth is showing this year. The Brewers would certainly like to sell him while he’s hot. The Mets shouldn’t mind taking a sizzling prospect.

Get to know the 17-19-year-old prospects in the farm for every team who could use another outfielder. A pair for Taylor can help make up for what the Mets lost four years ago.

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