Several MLB trades were made on Wednesday night and one of the quieter yet important ones involved a three-team swap between the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Zack Littell going to the Reds headlined the move. However, a former New York Mets prospect traded just last summer will be getting a new uniform as well.
Paul Gervase, used 5 times in the majors this year by the Rays with some wild results, is going to Hollywood; or at least their Triple-A affiliate. A 4.26 ERA and 5 walks in 6.1 innings must’ve had the Rays thinking twice about keeping him around. Gervase is in the stage of his career where testing the waters makes sense. He is bound to fail at times while being able to provide a team with some depth.
In case you forgot who he was traded for, it was Tyler Zuber. You may remember him from one game with the Mets earlier this season featuring 2 earned runs in 2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. You won’t find him around any longer. He was DFA’d after a poor showing in Triple-A and picked up by the Miami Marlins on waivers.
The Dodgers picked up a pretty good former Mets prospect the team never should’ve traded
Gervase would have had the potential to be useful this season as a young up-and-coming arm to throw in the bullpen. He hasn’t done as poorly as Zuber did. His MLB results, while not fantastic, outshine what the Mets got from Alex Carrillo. The Mets have now built a bullpen less reliant on fringe major leaguers. Injuries and the occasional day where they need a fresh arm should still come around.
Down in Triple-A, Gervase has been thriving. His 3.12 ERA almost doesn’t do justice. He has a WHIP under 1.00 and 14.1 K/9. The one big problem he had while in the Mets system was control. The Rays fixed it (at least at the minor league level). He has 2.7 BB/9 this season. He averaged well over 5 BB/9 in multiple seasons while with the Mets organization.
Several other former Mets have already headlined or will be the featured product in trade deadline moves. Steven Matz went to the Boston Red Sox. Adrian Houser is another.