The Mets trade with the Brewers is like winning the Eduardo Escobar deal all over again

Wednesday's New York Mets trade with the Milwaukee Brewers was relatively minor. They didn't land Corbin Burnes. The Mets didn't take a chance on Christian Yelich in a salary dump. What they did was add a good pitching swingman to the roster and a fourth outfielder with some power and defensive skills.

Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor are now Mets. All it cost New York was a single prospect, Rule 5 eligible pitcher Coleman Crow. A cost-cutting and roster clearing maneuver by Milwaukee, it does feel like the Mets are early winners here. After all, Crow underwent Tommy John Surgery shortly after the Mets acquired him last summer. He isn’t expected to pitch much, if at all, in 2024. This begs the question of why the Brewers didn’t just select him in the Rule 5 Draft earlier this month and stash him on the IL?

This all began with a different trade. It was in the Eduardo Escobar swap when Crow joined the Mets. Flipping him for two major leaguers while also keeping the other prospect they received from the Los Angeles Angels for Escobar makes this look like a win all over again.

The Mets embarrassed the Angels with this trade

Give an assist to Billy Eppler on this one. Houser might be nothing more than a number five. Taylor could quickly become a Keon Broxton on this roster. Before the worst case scenario becomes real, let's enjoy how good this deal feels.

It's essentially as if the Mets unloaded Escobar for Landon Marceaux, Houser, and Taylor. Quite the hall for a struggling infielder with no role on the team any longer.

Out in Orange County, the Angels are the biggest losers of all from this deal. They already let Escobar walk away into free agency. The 2024 option wasn't picked up and they're left with exactly what Willy Wonka intended to send Charlie Bucket away with; nothing. They lose. Good day sir.

If there is one negative takeaway from this trade, it's the lack of minor league options Houser and Taylor bring with them to New York. It's one of the reasons the Brewers probably made them available in the first place. Houser is one year away from free agency while Taylor won’t reach free agency until after the 2026 season.

Houser joins the Mets with a 31-34 record and 4.00 ERA through 97 MLB starts and 32 relief appearances. Meanwhile, Taylor comes over as a part-time player with a lifetime .239/.294/.451 slash line and an average of 20 home runs per 162 games.

Most importantly, this trade doesn’t affect other pursuits by the Mets. In fact, it may set up well for them to handle having Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the roster. If a six-man rotation is something they’ll utilize for most of the year, Houser in one spot regularly with some bullpen appearances alongside optional pitchers like Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, and David Peterson seems to make sense.