Both the Phillies and Mets trade for closers on Tuesday. The Phillies landed Jhoan Duran:
The Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a trade for Jhoan Duran, one of baseball’s best relievers, sources told ESPN on Wednesday, and paid a high price to the Minnesota Twins to get it done.
According to sources, Minnesota received catcher Eduardo Tait, regarded as a Top 100 prospect, and pitcher Mick Abel, a rookie with six years of team control. They’re ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, among the Phillies’ minor league prospects, per ESPN.
ESPN.com
Note that Duran’s strikeout rate is down this season and his walk rate is up. Tait is playing his age 18 season at high A ball. He’s hit .288/.349/.470 in three seasons. The sky’s the limit for Tait. Abel is a high K, high walk pitcher, and his ERA at every minor league level was over 4.00. Tait is the one to watch.
It’s been a while since the Phillies won the World Series, and I think they’d like to do that while Bryce Harper is still good. That group, Harper, Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, and Kyle Schwarber are not young any more.
The Mets take Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals:
The New York Mets are acquiring two-time All-Star reliever Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor leaguers, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday.
Though one of baseball’s top closers, Helsley is expected to serve as a setup man for Mets All-Star closer Edwin Diaz. He is the second right-handed reliever landed by the Mets via trade on Wednesday, joining Tyler Rogers, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants for three players hours earlier.
The additions provide very different looks. Rogers is a submariner with an 83-mph sinker. Helsley is a traditional hard-throwing late-inning reliever with an arsenal that centers around a fastball that averages over 99 mph.
ESPN.com
Like Jhoan, Helsley’s three true outcomes slipped from last season. Rogers needs a great defense behind him, with both K and BB rates. The Mets defense is okay.
I think the problem with deals for relievers, and relievers in general, comes from all their work being a small sample. It’s tough to know how well a reliever will do, since a couple of bad outings, or a couple of great outings, can skew the perception of the pitcher. I just can’t get excited about trades for relievers.