Yesterday, the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers made the first blockbuster trade of the trade deadline. The New York Mets sent SP Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers, the Rangers sent 21-year-old SS/2B, Luisangel Acuña to the Mets.
Max Scherzer also exercised his player option for the 2024 season and will be a Texas Ranger through the end of his contract. The Rangers will pay Scherzer $22.5M. The Mets will cover $35M-plus.
The Mets got the brother of Ronald Acuña Jr., Luisangel Acuña. He's the 44th best prospect in all of baseball, and the Rangers 3rd best prospect. In AA this year, Acuña is having a monstrous year. In 84 games, Acuña is slashing .315/.377/.453, 7 HR's, 51 RBI's, 42 SB, and a .830 OPS.
Max Scherzer isn't having a typical "Max Scherzer year". In 19 games for Scherzer, 107.2 innings pitched, Scherzer has a 9-4 record, 4.01 ERA, 121 SO, and a 1.19 WHIP. It's an okay year, but obviously not a year Scherzer is used to.
The Texas Rangers are obviously going all in. It shows by giving up a talanted 21-year-old, for a 39-year-old. With this trade, the Mets got a piece to their future, and the 1st place Rangers got a veteran pitcher for their run in October.