No NY Mets trade may have backfired in more ways than the deal for Paul Blackburn

The 2024 trade deadline deal for Paul Blackburn was underwhelming to fans before our pupils could even dilate after learning the news As much as we always expect the New York Mets to do something major in July, moves like this are far more common than the massive kind of splash we fantasize about.

The deal was trending in the right direction for Blackburn got hammered by his former Oakland Athletics teammates. Then came his final appearance for the Mets in 2024 versus the San Diego Padres which had a familiar sour ending. Tendered by the Mets in the offseason, he managed to make 4 starts and 3 relief appearances. Things went terribly. He had a 6.85 ERA which, added to his 5.18 ERA from the previous year, had him leaving the Mets with an even 6.00 ERA in 48 innings of work.

Always a trade fans raised an eyebrow over, the deal represents the worst way of looking at any trade.

You get what you pay for at the trade deadline, but sometimes you pay more than you thought and get very little back

It cost the Mets a single prospect to acquire Blackburn. Pitcher Kade Morris went to the Athletics in the deal. A good yet not crucial member of the Mets farm system at the time, Morris is now considered the number 15 prospect the Sacramento Athletics of Las Vegas Formerly Known as Oakland have.

Morris pitched to a 2.79 ERA in Double-A this year before getting elevated to Las Vegas, the questionable future home of the big league club. A city that attempts to ruin the careers of young pitchers while deceptively making every hitter look like the next Reggie Jackson, his ERA ballooned up to 5.22 in Triple-A. We’ll have to take the scouts’ word that it was indeed the ballpark, and the Pacific Coast League as a whole, which had him looking like less of a threat to break our hearts than he is.

Regardless of how Morris is doing, the thinking of approaching the 2024 trade deadline by bargain shopping couldn’t have turned out worse. Blackburn was ineffective. Although not directly responsible for each, the Mets lost all 5 of his final games with the team in 2025. Blackburn took the actual loss in 3 of them. The other two included his appearance from the bullpen on the infamous June 13 game versus the Tampa Bay Rays and finally a 5-inning performance in an 11-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on August 13; his first game back from the IL and last with the Mets.

Under Stearns, the Mets have held steady against trading away any truly major prospects. To an extent, it failed to push them over the top in 2024. More alarming was the results in 2025 when they pushed a little harder.

Stealing a player no one saw coming is the most euphoric result of any trade. Had Blackburn been a good Mets player, it would have been categorized as such. Instead, this trade checked off every box you don't want to with a trade.