Mets Trade Deadline Deal Battle: Marcus Stroman vs. Javier Baez

Was the Mets trade for Marcus Stroman worth it?

Stroman did help turn the Mets around in 2019. Although they missed the playoffs by a couple of feet, he helped excite the fans and make the club unexpected contenders late. August of 2019 had a playoff atmosphere at Citi Field. Unfortunately, the team ran out of road and couldn’t win enough in the final weeks to make it to the postseason.

Stroman’s time with the Mets included 44 starts, a 14-15 record, and 3.21 ERA. I feel like these numbers don’t do him justice for how reliable he was this past year. Stroman led the league with 33 starts and while we would have liked him to go more than 179 innings, having him available every fifth day was more important than getting deeper into individual starts.

Acquiring Stroman was a success for sure. But we need to look at what the Mets gave up.

In exchange for Stroman, pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson went to Toronto. Kay has not been an effective major league pitcher. He had a 5.50 ERA in his first 68.2 innings of work as a starter and reliever. Approaching his 27th birthday in March, there shouldn’t be too much concern that the Mets gave up a gem.

Woods Richardson is a much different story. A freshly turned 21 from this past September, he is already making many Top 100 prospect lists. This, despite having a 5.91 ERA in Double-A last year, could sway the trade the Blue Jays’ way.

Woods Richardson is, however, no longer a member of the Blue Jays. He was dealt to the Minnesota Twins in the Jose Berrios trade. So, for Toronto to actually win this trade, they need to get a lot from Berrios. Already signed to an extension for the next several seasons, there’s a chance they very well could.

Was the Mets trade for Javier Baez worth it?

There are far fewer moving parts in this trade than the former. Baez was acquired along with pitcher Trevor Williams for only one prospect, outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Despite a slow start and a brief feud with the fans, Baez’s time in New York was quite remarkable. He hit .299/.371/.515 with 9 home runs and 22 RBI. The offense was alive with him around. If only it could have woken up the rest of the team, including the pitching, this may have gone down as one of the best Mets trade deadline deals of all-time.

The idea of keeping Baez around beyond 2021 was possible but that won’t be the case. The Mets still do have Williams for the coming year, adding a few extra points to the score of this deal.

Ultimately, our perception of this deal depends on how Crow-Armstrong performs. He’s a few years away from getting anywhere close to the big leagues. Like all prospects, there’s plenty of uncertainty.

Thus far, only the Mets have gotten anything out of this deal. Crow-Armstrong only had 6 games of professional baseball experience before going down for the year in 2021 with an injury.

Eventually, maybe he does make the major leagues. And when it happens, there’s a possibility he’s playing behind Stroman, one of the newest members of the Cubs franchise.

Which of these Mets trades will turn out to be the better one?

It’s hard to dislike either of these deals because nothing bad has come from them. Only Kay has reached the majors and he hasn’t been so great.

The one piece I think is most likely to bite the Mets is Woods Richardson. Within the next few years, he could be the ace of the Twins’ staff while the Mets only have memories of Stroman’s time with the club.

Crow-Armstrong, a first-round draft pick, can have the same effect on the Baez deal. Regardless of whether or not he does become a star with the Cubs or any other team, the price to acquire Baez was nothing nuts and worth it.

There is one other factor I think is worth considering in this discussion. Stroman returned to the Mets in 2021 via qualifying offer. In a way, it’s almost as if this is separate from the trade entirely. Depending on how you weigh it, it’s almost as if the Mets got even less time from Stroman.

Between the two, the Baez trade was the better one made by the Mets. They got a power-hitting infielder for two months plus more than a year of a pitcher they can have fill in as their long man or even emergency starter. Unless Crow-Armstrong becomes a true superstar, I can’t imagine this going down as a major loss for New York. They still had a chance to re-sign Baez but decided to go in a different direction.

When looking at the two deals, many might consider their impact on the locker room, too. Stroman’s personality may have rubbed a few the wrong way and the same has been speculated about in regards to Baez.

From a pure baseball standpoint, both deals worked out for the Mets. We’ll just need to hold our breaths and hope either of the double-last name prospects they traded away turn into something incredible.