Grading the NY Mets trade of Luke Weaver to the Pirates for only 1 prospect

The New York Mets officially decided to pull the plug on more than the minimum by trading Luke Weaver to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thus ends one of the more impressive runs by a Mets free agent pitcher in recent memory. We’ll always have the scoreless streak.

A 1.84 ERA and another year of control heads to the Pirates for Sammy Stafura. A second-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2023 traded just last year for Ke’Bryan Hayes, Stafura is a Cortland native enjoying a nice year in the minors.

How does this trade grade?

Give the Mets-Pirates trade of Luke Weaver a C+

Leave it to David Stearns to make it complicated. Weaver’s year of control made him a tough sell for fans to deal him. In return, to get one prospect albeit the best one they’ve gotten so far, leaves a bit of puzzlement.

A .301/.365/.656 slash line in High-A with a ridiculous 19 home runs will have Stafura rising quickly. As a shortstop, we can expect good odds he ends up at second base or third base although he hasn’t been so bad at the infield’s most difficult spot to cover.

Stafura is a really good prospect to get and we should guess he ends up easily in the top 10 of the Mets’ farm system, possibly challenging for top 5 by the time the year is through. While a few other Mets trades were about snagging lower-ranked players having good years or higher ranked ones having bad ones, this return’s only negative is the Mets could use Weaver next year.

The decision to trade Weaver suggests a few things. One is the Mets know how fickle it can be with relievers. Secondly, they may have enough confidence in guys they’ve already acquired to be significant contributors. What’s more, there will be a free agent period to sign somebody.

What made Weaver especially crucial to keep was how he was the best Devin Williams insurance. Now headed to the Pirates, a team the Mets were always bound to trade a reliever to, we turn our gaze to the minor leagues and watch if Stafura can continue to rise.

Stafura is, thus far, the best and most intriguing prospect the Mets have added. It cost them maybe their most useful asset for next year. It's a job well done, but hardly a robbery by either side. This is one of those trades you can like one half of and hate the other one. Let's see if Stafura becomes a real top prospect or even a trade chip used in another deal.

The trade, first, earned a B grade. However, one detail dropped it down.

Paying about half of Weaver's salary for next year makes this far less satisfying.

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