A NY Mets trade swapping Tyrone Taylor for a late-blooming Mariners prospect

The New York Mets will need to be realistic when it comes to what they can get back for Tyrone Taylor at this year’s trade deadline. A free agent-to-be this offseason, he’s a .207 hitter with fluctuating power, good speed, and consistent defense. Able to play all three outfield positions, he’d look pretty good on the Seattle Mariners depth chart.

The Seattle outfield defense has been worth -9 OAA this year. Only the Athletics have been worse. As a late-inning replacement and even a guy who can start regularly in place of an injured player for some stretch, he’s someone the Mariners could have interest in mostly as a late inning substitute.

We’ll probably want to skip over all of the top Mariners prospects for a candidate to add. Unranked, blooming way later than expected, and undrafted before his pro career began, a 28-year-old left-handed pitcher named Peyton Alford is the kind of flier the Mets should take.

Why Peyton Alford could be a fascinating find for the Mets in a trade for Tyrone Taylor

Jonathan Pintaro, get ready to have some company. Another 28-year-old rookie who has appeared in games for the Mets this season, Pintaro has been a ranked Mets prospect for a few years. He was an Indy Ball find by David Stearns who, at times this year, has looked like a big league reliever. Alford has yet to get there but after a dominant stint in Double-A, things are trending in the right direction.

Alford has had trouble getting out of Double-A despite some success in the past. 158.1 total innings spread across multiple seasons, he has finally crossed over into Triple-A this year and things have gone well. A 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings is promising. What’s the hold-up? It’s probably the 5.5 BB/9. Bad but not insane, accompanying it is a 13.2 K/9 rate.

Even better in Double-A, Alford dominated that level with a 1.42 ERA and 14.2 K/9 rate. The walks were mostly absent, walking only 2 in 19 innings of work.

The fact that he throws left-handed is a bonus. The Mets will have more than enough room post-trade deadline to try out guys like him in the majors with A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley shipped elsewhere. Better against righties this season than lefties, a .580 OPS coming from righties and .633 from lefties, there’s no reason to get too particular about his usage if he was to come to the Mets.

The Mariners haven’t felt the need to promote him hastily in the past and with his Rule 5 eligibility this offseason (if we even get a Rule 5 Draft), they’re at risk of losing him for nothing. When it comes to a Taylor trade, the Mets can choose between some random teenage prospect with a handful of games in the Dominican Winter League or a guy in Triple-A less than 36 months away from turning 30. If contending next year is a goal, go with the latter. Even if he tops out at being a Danny Young for you, consider it a victory.

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