Re-grading the 2023 Max Scherzer NY Mets-Rangers trade two summers later

Almost two full years have passed since the New York Mets boldly traded future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2023 MLB trade deadline. The team executed multiple moves to signal for the first time since 2018 that they had no intention of contending for a playoff spot. The irony is that in many of those years the Mets were trade deadline buyers only to fall short of the playoffs altogether.

Scherzer was sent to the Rangers in a creative deal which had the Mets paying all of his $43.33 million in 2023 and another $20.83 million of the same total the following year. After the dust settled, fans seemed elated. How are we feeling now?

Initially, this trade could be graded an A-. The Mets were able to add a guy who quickly became one of their best prospects, Luisangel Acuna. All it cost them was a lot of cash they had already committed. The trade also opened up more possibilities for the following year with Scherzer’s salary cut by a significant portion even if they were continuing to pay him whilst with a different club. What’s the grade for this trade look like now?

The Mets-Rangers trade involving Max Scherzer isn’t so sweet any longer

While Rising Apple’s Brian Germinaro kindly re-graded the Justin Verlander for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford trade a B after an initial A, this one doesn’t seem to have quite the same ceiling. The two deals were similar with the Mets continuing to pay a large part of Verlander’s deal. They picked up two prospects, Gilbert who has fallen on hard times in Triple-A and Clifford who is producing around the level we’d expect; hitting for power with some other holes in his game.

Acuna is the only one of the three to make it to the majors and right now it doesn’t look like the Mets have much use for him. After a strong September and another hot start to this season, Acuna’s lack of barreling baseballs has put his offensive abilities into question further. His Baseball Savant Page is so blue it could get its own children's show based out of Australia.

Undeniable speed and a good glove can only get a player so far in this league. The Mets have used him as bare minimally for months, even going so far as to send him to the minors for a little while just to get him some regular at-bats. The only reason he hasn’t been completely written off is the team can keep some trade value by not using up his final minor league option. They also haven’t gotten nearly enough out of Ronny Mauricio, the man who took away a lot of Acuna’s playing time.

Scherzer ended up making only 17 regular season starts for the Rangers before hitting free agency after the 2024 season. Much less his past self, more so in year two, the big thing to take note of is Scherzer being present for the 2023 World Series won by the Rangers. It negates a lot of the bad even if Scherzer was bad in the ALCS and limited to a 3-inning start in the World Series.

Nevertheless, the Mets are at a place with Acuna where it doesn’t look like they’ll get much at all from him. Re-grading this now, a C- is the best we can do. A large part of it comes from the fact the Mets were able to shed salary, open a roster spot, and make 2024 memorable without him. Chances are, if this trade gets another re-grade in 2026, it’s going to be worse.