3) Ryan Helsley
Somehow, this trade made the Rogers deal feel even better. With Rogers as a setup man for Edwin Diaz, the bullpen situation gets better. Him falling back and making Ryan Helsley the true 8th inning guy and 9th inning alternative ups the excitement even more so.
The Mets traded Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm, and Frank Ellisalt to acquire the former St. Louis Cardinals closer. Baez was easily the best prospect of the bunch with Dohm blending into the middle of the pack on their prospect rankings. Poor Ellisalt is someone completely off the radar of most fans. I’ll proudly raise my hand and admit that other than Baez, I completely forgot who the Mets traded away in this deal.
This is the kind of well-crafted trade Mets fans were hoping to see from David Stearns. Nothing huge was given up. Every player is immediately replaceable in the farm system. The team has cycled through as many third basemen as humanly possible, putting Baez out of the picture for a future job.
A move to help slap back at the Philadelphia Phillies for their acquisition of Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins, it feels like a more than reasonable price. It doesn’t matter if Helsley is out the door in a few months. This turns the Mets bullpen from good to great.