NY Mets are about to be reminded of Paul Blackburn trade with A's in frustrating way

Paul Blackburn hasn't been a member of the New York Mets for some time, having joined and remained with the crosstown Yankees after being cut last year. He's been fine in a relief role with the Bronx Bombers, compiling a 3.33 ERA and 3.77 FIP with them this year, but he's been responsible for some lackluster metrics that suggest worse times are around the corner.

Regardless of what he does with the Yankees, nothing will change his standing as one of the worst trade acquisitions under David Stearns' leadership. He was worth -0.7 WAR over 48 innings with the Mets, which was hard enough to stomach. Now, the Athletics are promoting top prospect Kade Morris, who the Mets originally surrendered for Blackburn.

That trade has a chance to go from bad to worse in short order, depending on how Morris fares in his MLB debut.

Kade Morris, set to debut for A's, is the exact pitcher Mets need right now

Through the end of May, the Mets' rotation has been, to a degree, respectable. Their starting pitcher cohort ranks 17th in the league in ERA (4.36) while ranking 14th in fWAR (4.4) and 10th in FIP (3.79). All in all, that's a pretty middle-of-the-road group, but one that gets the job done for a team built around a well-compensated offense.

The problem is that the Mets simply do not get any length out of their starters. Their rotation has combined for 280 2/3 total innings through May, which ranks 24th in the league. This isn't an isolated issue, either, as the 2025 iteration of the team dealt with the same problem.

How does this relate to Morris? Well, the 23-year-old has been one of the best innings-eaters in the minor leagues in recent years, tossing 286 innings combined between 2024-25. For reference, only one pitcher (David Peterson) topped that mark for the Mets in the same span, barely eclipsing Morris' total by submitting 289 2/3 frames.

Morris, who has thrown 60 more innings this year prior to his promotion, would rank third on the Mets in 2026 in that category. He's prolific at working deep into games, even if his overall performance (4.45 ERA in 2026) isn't befitting of a top prospect.

With Blackburn now playing for a hated rival and Morris set to debut across the country, it's hard to argue that this isn't one of the worst trades in recent Mets history.

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