Re-grading the Mets trade for Joey Lucchesi following his DFA

On January 19, 2021, the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres struck a three-team deal. Several notable players swapped uniforms. Among them was Joe Musgrove going to the Padres from the Pirates. Pittsburgh picked up David Bednar. The Mets gave up prospect Endy Rodriguez and sent him to the Pirates while acquiring Joey Lucchesi from the Padres.

Lucchesi’s time with the Mets was a mix of promising and lost opportunities. He missed all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery which took place in mid-2021. He added 9 starts last year, pitching to a 2.89 ERA and winning all 4 of his decisions. This year he was viewed as nothing more than depth, 5 earned runs in 4.1 innings in his lone big league start plus a 4.20 ERA in 15 starts in Triple-A had the Mets sacrificing him to make room for Phil Maton.

The Mets were the clear losers in this trade. Exactly what grade do they deserve now that he’s gone from at least the 40-man roster?

Give the Mets a D for the Joey Lucchesi trade

Lucchesi didn’t give the Mets very much in his three and a half years with the team. Used well as depth last year and again this year, he never differentiated himself enough from the pack of players like David Peterson and Tylor Megill to pass them on the depth chart. Undoubtedly about to land with someone else in some fashion whether it be through waivers, a trade, or free agent signing, he was a limited pitcher whose upside was precisely the way the Mets used him.

One thing the Mets don’t have to worry about is a missed opportunity. He had enough chances, as few as they were. Already out of the picture for next season due to his lack of minor league options, the only puzzle from this move was why they subtracted from the starting pitching depth over one of those Four-A relievers continually collected.

If the Mets didn’t give up a thing in this deal, we’d brush it aside. However, Rodriguez became a top 100 MLB prospect shortly after joining Pittsburgh. He hit .220/.284/.328 last season in his first 204 big league plate appearances following a bit of a fall-off in the minors when he batted just .268/.356/.415 in 315 chances there. It was in the 2022 season when he went from High-A to Triple-A that caught everyone’s attention. In 531 trips to the plate, Rodriguez hammered 25 home runs, drove in 95, and hit .323/.407/.590.

What is Rodriguez up to this season? UCL surgery knocked him out of this entire campaign. Still a prized piece of Pittsburgh’s future, it’s unfortunate he’ll also see his career sidetracked for a time like the player the Mets acquired in exchange for him.

As good as Rodriguez is supposed to become, he hasn’t gotten there yet which saves this from turning into an F grade for the Mets. A re-grade of a D comes from a combination of Lucchesi never really doing much for the team in important situations. His success in late 2023 was after the team had already folded. We can apply some credit to the Mets for at least trying with Lucchesi who showed signs of being a quality back-end starter. The trade could always go down in more infamy if Rodriguez becomes a superstar.