The Mets have traded outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league second baseman Dilson Herrera, and pitcher Vic Black, who will be announced as the player to be named later. New York has also sent $250k in cash considerations to the Pirates.
Herrera is playing his first full season in Single-A, where he has hit .265 with 11 home runs and 27 doubles in 109 games. The 19 year old was ranked as the team's 11th best prospect in the Pirates' farm system coming into the 2013 season, according to MLB.com.
Jonathon Mayo of MLB.com recently said that Herrera could be in the Majors Leagues by 2016. According to Baseball America, he is the best defensive second baseman in the South Atlantic League.
"While he's not the biggest guy in the world, he's shown that he can really hit and projects to be an above-average hitter in the future, with more power than you'd expect from a guy his size." Mayo said.
"Herrera is a nice get for the Mets," Baseball America's Ben Balder said on Twitter. "Good hitter, premium position, solid pop for his size."
Herrera will report directly to Single-A Savannah, according to Sandy Alderson.
Black will need to clear waivers before being officially acquired by the Mets. But sometime soon he will be announced as the player to be named later. Black currently has a 2.51 ERA in 38 appearances with Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate. His 12.2 K/9 ratio is impressive, but his 4.0 BB/9 ratio is concerning.
MLB.com ranked him as the sixth-best prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system prior to this season.
"His fastball can be plus, into the mid-90s with sink, and he combines it with a hard slider that could be a Major League average pitch," MiLB.com's Jonathon Mayo said. "Black's control, however, hasn't been as solid. Though his walk rate did drop in 2012, he had trouble throwing strikes during his Arizona Fall League stint. If Black can find the strike zone with more consistency, he has the stuff to pitch out of the back end of the bullpen."
Marlon Byrd originally came over to the Mets on a minor league deal over the winter. To say that he was a surprise would be an understatement. In 117 games with New York, the 36 year old hit .285 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. The Mets decided to hold onto him at the trade deadline, due to the low-value offers that were given.
Buck was acquired by New York via the R.A. Dickey trade back in December of 2012. The 33 year old backstop got off to a great start in 2013, hitting ..290 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI in his first 17 games. However, since that point, he hit .199 with 8 home runs and 38 RBI in 84 games.
Buck was not expected to receive as much playing time as he did. Travis d'Arnaud was expected to be up in the Majors around mid-season, but a severe injury delayed his MLB debut.
Overall, I truly think the Mets did well in this trade. Of-course, they are giving up their two best hitters not named David Wright in one single deal, but the prospects they are receiving are pretty special, especially for an August trade.
I've enjoyed everything Marlon Byrd has done this season, but in July I was strongly pushing for the team to sell him while his value was high. Byrd, from that point, has heated up even more, and raised his value enough for Sandy to get what he wanted.
Buck did a fine job for the Mets this season, despite the so-so hitting stats. At times it was noticeable that he was beginning to fatigue due to the every-day catching job, but he still went out and did as much as he could to help the team. I strongly believe that he was a solid veteran presence for the young pitchers he dealt with, as any veteran backstop would be.
As for the prospects the Mets received, I really like what they got. At 19 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to develop into a Major league caliber player. If he does wind up with the big league team in 2016, like scouts have predicted, he would only be 22 years old, so he may have a bright future with this organization. His quick bat speed is something that scouts rave about, as well as his power and stolen base potential. However, his weak arm strength may force him to stay at second base for good.
As for Black, for a player to be named later, I was surprised to see his name. Black is such an interesting player to analyze because he has the potential to be a great late-inning guy because of his incredible strikeout rate, but his control has been a problem. I really hope that the Mets get to see the 25 year old hurler sometime in September, as he could have a solid role with the team in the 2014 season. He was really a solid pickup by Sandy and Co.
All in all, the Mets did what needed to be done. Last season they held onto Scott Hairston, and did not cash in on high value. This season they did not want to repeat the same mistake with Byrd, so they waited as long as they could, and finally pulled the trigger. From a long-term point of view, this trade is solid for the Mets.
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