Small NY Mets trade with Brewers last summer has a higher ceiling than first imagined

David Stearns, you’ve done it again! A minor storyline last year with the New York Mets was the MLB debut of Tyler Jay. The sixth overall pick from 2015 finally made it to the majors. His time with the Mets wasn’t memorable and on July 21, 2024, it came to an end. The Mets traded the lefty to the Milwaukee Brewers for righty TJ Shook who looked stuck in Double-A.

Shook immediately transitioned to a full-time reliever role with Binghamton where he’d finish the season with a 3.92 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. It was an improvement on the 4.90 ERA he had with Biloxi, the Double-A affiliate of the Brewers. 

Stearns must’ve known something others didn't know about Shook, a pitcher he was already familiar with during his time with the Brewers organization. Shook has quietly put together a productive 2025 campaign while exclusively pitching as a reliever.

The Mets look like they received a pretty good minor leaguer in this otherwise forgettable trade

Shook has now appeared in 12 games and logged 19 innings. A 4-0 record and 2.84 ERA along with 2.8 BB/9 and 12/3 K/9 are helping to define his season as a favorable one. He had a brief 3-inning appearance in Syracuse earlier this year as well and other than a hit and a walk, kept the opposing hitters at bay. Shook struck out 4 in that game.

Older than his peers in Double-A, Shook is going to need to excel in Triple-A before we begin to make plans to see him ever reach the big leagues. An undrafted amateur in large part because of the reduced number of rounds in 2020 due to the pandemic, Shook is right there alongside Jonathan Pintaro as notable prospects in Double-A a bit older than their peers. Each is 27 in a league made more for 25-year-olds.

The transition from starter to reliever and doing it as well as Shook sounds easier than it is. It’s never as simple as giving someone fewer innings. The routine is completely changing. So are the circumstances.

Embracing the new role has made Shook far more relevant in the grand scheme of the Mets' picture. There are far too many young, truly captivating Mets pitching prospects for him to compete against. As a reliever, he could very well be a diamond in the rough.