Ambitious Mets trade for Trevor Gott is showing its first leaks

When the New York Mets swapped Zach Muckenhirn for Chris Flexen and Trevor Gott, you probably had to read the headline twice. What kind of a trade was this? The Mets were going to eat Flexen’s contract in order to acquire Gott for a pitcher they had already designated for assignment.

Gott had been pitching well for the Seattle Mariners through the end of May. The owner of a 1.75 ERA at the time, he turned into a pumpkin the next month.

Gott had appearances with 5, 3, and 1 run allowed to finish off his time with the Mariners. It included a no-decision, a loss, and a blown save. His first three appearances for the Mets included three appearances with only one hit allowed. He faced one over the minimum and things were going well until suddenly they’re not.

The NY Mets trade for Trevor Gott has turned after 3 appearances

Gott earned a blown save for the Mets on July 16 versus the Los Angeles Dodgers when he gave up a run in the 8th. The Mets scrounged up the victory thanks to a walk-off hit by Luis Guillorme. On the mound two days later versus the Chicago White Sox, Gott gave up two more earned runs and an unearned one without retiring a single batter. His ERA is up to 4.45 on the year and the ambitious trade to acquire him suddenly doesn’t feel like such a great one.

The 8.10 ERA in the small 3.1 inning sample size is nothing to panic about because of how few there are. It’s how he finished off with the Mariners that might have us a little more concerned. Gott doesn’t look like much of an upgrade over any minor leaguer the Mets could’ve promoted from the minor leagues.

The purpose of acquiring Gott was to have him available for next year. Arbitration eligible for the 2024 campaign, the thought was to get a head start on building up next year’s bullpen.

It does feel like Gott falls into the same category as Darin Ruf or Daniel Vogelbach. The two DHs the Mets acquired at last year’s trade deadline with control in 2023 stuck around through at least the end of spring training. It seems Billy Eppler has an M.O. of adding players in preparation for the future (not a bad idea) who end up failing miserably with the Mets (the bad result of a good idea).

Because the Mets traded Gott exclusively for next year’s bullpen and Steve Cohen is paying the bill for Flexen to make it happen, he seems pretty much guaranteed to stick around and have a roster spot next year. Two poor outings in a row is worth noting, but not panicking over. A lifetime 4.75 ERA, on the other hand, should have us wondering if the Mets reached a little too far.