NY Mets injuries cost David Stearns an opportunity at another Brewers thievery

Trades in early April tend to be patchwork attempts to make up for unforeseen issues or the rare opportunity to add someone else’s trash hoping the player(s) can become your treasure. Early on Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox made a trade that if you’ve only been paying attention to New York Mets baseball might not strike you as anything more than one of those easily forgotten trades.

The very desperate Brewers need some starting pitching. Their IL includes an astonishing 7 starting pitchers. Nestor Cortes was the most recent to land on it with Aaron Ashby and Aaron Civale as two who went on it shortly before Opening Day.

Yet to unleash Jose Quintana on the world as he works his way to MLB-readiness due to his late offseason deal with Milwaukee, the Brewers willingly swapped Yophery Rodriguez and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick with Boston for Quinn Priester. If not for a slew of Mets injuries, this might have been another opportunity for David Stearns to steal from his old employee.

A healthier Mets roster might’ve been able to capitalize on a desperate Brewers team

Stearns stolen from the Brewers before. In December 2023, he picked up Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor for Coleman Crow, an oft-injured pitching prospect who hasn’t figured things out in the minor leagues just yet. Taylor became the Mets’ starting center fielder by the end of last season, adding some fuel to what already looked like a good deal for New York. Even if Houser turned out to be a major bust, we’re thankful for Taylor and continue to have faith he’ll be a useful asset this year and next.

According to MLB Pipeline, Rodriguez becomes the 11th ranked prospect for the Red Sox which is impressive for a farm system that is one of the better ones in baseball. We can assume he’d rank similarly or better in the Mets system. That’s a pretty good get for a pitcher like Priester who hasn’t found much success at the MLB level and has only one minor league option remaining.

Fewer Mets injuries and perhaps a player like Tylor Megill would have been a match for a trade. Of course, through two starts, the idea of trading Megill seems preposterous. He has been the team’s best starter this year. However, there might not be room for him to remain in the rotation for the full season once players like Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas recover.

What makes this trade especially eyebrow raising is the inclusion of the Competitive Balance Round A pick. The Josh Naylor trade this offseason included a Round B selection. For Priester, the Brewers gave up a draft pick around 30 picks better.

It’s revisionist history and would require the wave of a magic wand to get the Mets involved in this already completed trade. On a lesser extent, someone like Paul Blackburn might’ve even made sense or perhaps Milwaukee might even be willing to add on one of the starting pitchers not currently on the 40-man roster.

The Mets can’t afford to part with any of their starting pitching depth at the moment. They’ve already dug deep into the depth. It’s why players like Blackburn will get a long leash. The long MLB season is brutal on pitchers. The last place we want to be is where the Brewers are.

Sunday's scare when David Peterson experienced nausea was yet another example of how precious starting pitching is right now. If he felt he could, Stearns wouldn't hesitate to commit larceny against his former club. All things happen for a reason? If the current walking wounded Mets starting staff and strong beginnings for Megill is the silver lining, we can accept it.