Former NY Mets player from one of David Stearns’ worst trades gets flipped again

It was a day of remembering some of David Stearns’ worst moves for the New York Mets on Tuesday with the decision to DFA Frankie Montas. An inevitable move of “why have him occupy roster spot in the first place?”, the team made the divorce official by replacing him on the 40-man roster with Nick Morabito.

MLB moves ran rampant with the qualifying offer decisions and later finalized rosters needed in anticipation for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft in December. The Mets had one of the least active days out there, but in addition to remembering Stearns’ worst free agent signing, we got a dose of what is becoming one of his worst trades.

Amidst the flurry of roster additions, the Tampa Bay Rays traded Eric Orze to the Minnesota Twins. Orze was, of course, the player the Mets sent to the Rays in exchange for Jose Siri whose time with the Mets ended prematurely just as Montas’ will.

Former Mets pitcher Eric Orze will take his talents to the Twins next

Orze managed to pitch to a 3.02 ERA with the Rays last season in 41.2 innings of work. The peripherals weren’t fantastic. The 1.36 WHIP was well-represented by a few too many hits and walks allowed. His 4.05 FIP declares him more lucky than good.

Regardless, Orze would have undoubtedly been a useful part of the Mets roster in 2025 had he not been traded. In comparison to Siri, who had just 2 hits scattered months apart, it’s impossible to claim the Mets-Rays swap as anything other than a failure. Orze's 30.7% hard-hit rate is tough to argue against.

In exchange for Orze, the Rays landed 22-year-old Jacob Kisting who was a 14th round pick by Minnesota in 2024. A nice season in the lower levels of the minor leagues last year to debut, the swap is a bit curious considering Orze had minor league options left and did show promising results. Who’s to argue with much of what Tampa Bay does? 

Orze immediately becomes one of the more significant relievers on the Twins roster. Decimated by last year’s trade deadline, Roster Resource has him listed fourth on their depth chart behind only three candidates to be the team’s closer.