Grading all 7 Mets trade deadline moves

Grades for all of the moves the Mets made at the trade deadline

Justin Verlander (pictured above) was traded to the Houston Astros on Tuesday in exchange for two of Houston's top prospects.
Justin Verlander (pictured above) was traded to the Houston Astros on Tuesday in exchange for two of Houston's top prospects. | Elsa/GettyImages
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2) The New York Mets dealt Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers for Ronald Acuña Jr.'s little brother.

The end was near for Max Scherzer for the Mets after Scherzer’s comments on Friday about the team’s plans for next year and beyond. It turned out that it was indeed over not even 24 hours after that, as the Mets sent the three-time Cy Young winner to the AL West-leading Texas Rangers on Saturday in exchange for Luisangel Acuña, the brother of Atlanta Braves’ superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña, Jr.

Whenever you hear the name Acuña, that usually means excitement. And Luisangel Acuña is not an exception to that statement, as he is ranked the No. 44 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline. Acuña has the makings of a five-tool player in the major leagues, and not many players can say that. He has a .315/.377/.453 slash line at Double-A with 114 hits and 42 stolen bases this season (both rank 2nd in all of Double-A this season), and spent most of his time playing shortstop, while sprinkling in some time at second base and in center field.

The Mets also agreed to pay down $35 million of the $57 million Scherzer is owed over the next two years, and the Mets used that leverage to bring in a stud like Luisangel Acuña, who is now the No. 2 prospect in the Mets’ system. So Uncle Stevie is using his thick wallets to bring in top prospects, and this is one example of it.

Grade: B+

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