Bye Bye Byrdie (?)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Depending on how much playing time David Wright gets over the remainder of this season, Daniel Murphy may also end up as the only Met to get 502 plate appearances, which would make him the default team leader for batting average, slugging, and OBP.

As for ERA leader, Matt Harvey already has the 162 innings needed to lead the team in that category. He can also lead the league, but to do so he'll need Clayton Kershaw to get knocked around quite a bit. Harvey is the only Met with 162 innings so far, but Dillon Gee is only a few innings short of that mark.

[ashie62]

I feel like they gave away Byrd and Buck for zilch..

[Frayed Knot]

So they got a player you never heard of prior to today plus one more we don't know the name of yet - and yet you've already decided that both add up to "zilch".

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, come on.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

He's a guy who you've never heard of who played in the Futures Game, reportedly has superlative range/glove, runs with "60" grade speed, and demonstrates solid average-skills/plate-selection at age 19, plus another-- presumably cheap, presumably a potential future contributor-- roster piece, in exchange for spare parts who may have been able to get the Mets another win or two between them. In a post-deadline trade with five weeks to go.

[bmfc1]

This was EXACTLY the type of trade that Sandy needed to make, trading two players that won't help them win the pennant this year and won't be on the team next year for one of the Pirates best prospects. Maybe Dilson won't amount to anything but he has good numbers (that little body produces that much power?) and is a good addition for the Mets.

[Edgy MD]

[Edgy MD]

Neither Buck nor Byrd see action last nght as the Pirates fall to Milwaukee and lose ground in the Central.

Stupid Clint Hurdle.

[Vic Sage]

bmfc1 wrote: This was EXACTLY the type of trade that Sandy needed to make, trading two players that won't help them win the pennant this year and won't be on the team next year for one of the Pirates best prospects. Maybe Dilson won't amount to anything but he has good numbers (that little body produces that much power?) and is a good addition for the Mets.

He just needed to make the move a month ago, when there may have been more options. And i read that Dilson was ranked as Pitt's 19th best prospect; i don't consider that one of their "best prospects". Lets not romanticize him before he even shows up.

But at any rate, i saw Sandy after last night's game saying this was a better package than he had been offered by anybody in July. Now I don't necessarily believe him; what's he going to say? "well, i was offered more before but i wasn't authorized to pull the trigger until now."? He'd be out the door before the last syllable hit the floor. but if its true, than fine, good. He picked us quite a Dilly!

[Benjamin Grimm]

Who knows? There may have been more options in July, but teams may be more desperate in August. If Dilson Herrera becomes a major league player, this will have been a good trade. If not, well, all the Mets gave up was two guys who were going to be gone in a month anyway.

And of course, the PTBNL may also amount to something some day.

[Vic Sage]

i think its a good trade regardless, just on the chance that those players can develop. All i'm saying is was this the best possible trade? you're right; who knows? I do think it's at least a question.

[seawolf17]

But it's a question that we'll never know the answer to, so I see the exercise as futile. We got a good deal out of two guys who were going to give us nothing in the long run, and that's without even knowing who the PTBNL is. The only way this is a negative for Sandy is if Herrera gets hit by a bus tomorrow AND if the PBTNL gets hit by a bus the day after he gets N'ed.

[Vic Sage]

Even that isn't a negative for Sandy, unless he is driving that bus.

[Edgy MD]

Alderson said explicitly that he liked what he was offered now more than what was being dangled at the deadline. So maybe he's a liar, but it's not like he's unaware of the benefits of dealing at the deadline. It's just the way it played out for him, he believes he found more benefit to holding out.

Maybe not, but for what it's worth, the fact that Buck and Byrd went to the Pirates means most of the league passed on the them as waiver claims, and so we can conclude had little or no interest in them on the trade market.

[Farmer Ted]

Dilson may have been the Pirates 19th-rated prospect, but with the various machinations of scouting that Sandy and crew have, there was definitely something they liked on this guy as opposed to others that were considered higher on the charts. And what exactly would the Mets have gotten in return if Byrd was traded a month ago? There were no Wheelers to be had like the Beltran trade. Yeah, he's having a good year, but it's Marlon Byrd for crissakes. They weren't getting Gerrit Cole.

[Vic Sage]

Farmer Ted wrote: Dilson may have been the Pirates 19th-rated prospect, but with the various machinations of scouting that Sandy and crew have, there was definitely something they liked on this guy as opposed to others that were considered higher on the charts. And what exactly would the Mets have gotten in return if Byrd was traded a month ago? There were no Wheelers to be had like the Beltran trade. Yeah, he's having a good year, but it's Marlon Byrd for crissakes. They weren't getting Gerrit Cole.

there were quotes from Mets brass back in July about how all they could get is a team's 10-15th best prospect at that time, and that it was insufficient. So, instead, we got a team's 19th best prospect a month later. What changed? fewer teams still in it, 30 more days of the season gone, and restrictions on who they could bargain with. Does that seem to you a recipe for a BETTER deal or a worse one?

I'm not saying Sandy would or should have gotten a team's best prospect for Byrd/Buck, or even a top 10 prospect; it's just about maximizing assets at this point. And if i trusted our ownership to keep their financial issues out of these things, and it was purely a baseball decision, then fine. But i do not trust them to have done so, which is why there are questions for me if we really maximized our assets, or if we undermined that because the owners thought they could sell a few more tickets in August by holding on to Byrd as long as they could. Can we know? of course not. But this is the kind of mistrust and uncertainty bred by this ownership group.

[Edgy MD]

I missed those quotes.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Actually Mookie Dilson was the No. 9 or 10 prospect for the Pirates (not 19), depending on the list, and keep in mind the Pirates farm is considered top 5 by those same listmakers.

I'd be surprised if this guy doesn't rank in our top 5.

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Actually Mookie Dilson was the No. 9 or 10 prospect for the Pirates (not 19), depending on the list, and keep in mind the Pirates farm is considered top 5 by those same listmakers.

That I didn't miss.

[Guest sharpie]

Rob Neyer sure likes the trade

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/8/27/4665476/pittsburgh-pirates-new-york-mets-trade-marlon-byrd-john-buck-dilson-herrera

[Edgy MD]

Added bonus: Adds a new branch to the Tim Bogar trade tree. Herrera --- along with d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, and Builcerra --- all have trace amounts of Bogar in their DNA.

[seawolf17]

Edgy MD wrote: Added bonus: Adds a new branch to the Tim Bogar trade tree. Herrera --- along with d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, and Builcerra --- all have trace amounts of Bogar in their DNA.

That's fantastic. Trade trees are awesome.

[Frayed Knot]

Internet rumor cites Vic Black as possible PtbNL

- 6' 4" 25 y/o RHP was late 1st/supplemental pick (49th overall) in 2009 out of Texas Baptist University
- Is on Pittsburgh 40-man (which could explain the PtbNL status) and briefly appeared (3 games) with the big club this year
- He was a starter early on but moved exclusively to relieving pretty quickly and filled the role of closer at AA & AAA in 2012 & 2013
- 38 appearances, 30 games finished, 2.15 ERA, 1.05 WHiP, 17 saves, 46.2 IP, 28 hits, 63 K, 21 BB, 2 HR at Indianapolis this year.

Walks are a bit high, but are a slight improvement over previous years and there's nothing not to like about any of the other numbers.



I have no idea of the accuracy of the info which cites him as the back half of this deal.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Just saying, if a guy named Vic Black can't be a great closer, I dunno who can.

Drafted by Mets in '06 but didn't sign.

[Guest sharpie]

Hope Vic Black is better than Rick White was.

[Edgy MD]

there were quotes from Mets brass back in July about how all they could get is a team's 10-15th best prospect at that time, and that it was insufficient.

I'm still looking for this. I instead found this:

="The New York Post"]Outside executives have said the best the Mets could hope for on Byrd is an interested team�s 10th-15th-best prospect because the sport still eyes Byrd with suspicion since he was terrible last year, failed a PED test and has revived in his age-35 season out of nowhere.

[Frayed Knot]

sharpie wrote: Hope Vic Black is better than Rick White was.

I predict he'll be the exact opposite.

[Vic Sage]

how can you not root for a guy named Vic?

[Benjamin Grimm]

[Edgy MD]

Text too small. My comic was better.