The New York Mets have a loaded lineup, and the top of their rotation is the best in the big leagues, with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. Their depth, on the other hand, indicated that they could use a couple of extra pitchers.
On Saturday night, the Mets swung a trade that helped them bring a reliable top-of-the-rotation arm that, because of the presence of deGrom and Scherzer, will be asked to be more of a mid-rotation stabilizer: they brought in Chris Bassitt from the Oakland Athletics, in exchange for prospect pitches JT Ginn and Adam Oller.
The New York Mets and Oakland Athletics are in agreement on a trade that would send right-handed starter Chris Bassitt to the Mets, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 12, 2022
The Mets needed an arm like Bassitt to make sure their pitching staff had at least one reliable innings-eater: deGrom is coming off a torn elbow ligament that “healed itself” in 2021, Scherzer is 37, Carlos Carrasco is old and injury-prone (although still very talented), Taijuan Walker declined in last year’s second half, and David Peterson and Tylor Megill are unproven.
Bringing Bassitt, 33, was a no-brainer move by the Mets even if he only has one year left on his contract. If he performs well in 2022, it’s not out of the question that the team signs him to an extension.
The Mets are getting a workhorse
Bassitt is a workhorse: it took a comebacker to his face, and multiple fractures, to keep him out of action for a while last season, and he made his return after spending several weeks on the shelf.
Over the last four seasons, the newest member of the Mets owns a fantastic 3.23 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 8.7 K/9 across 412 innings, making him one of the best and most consistent starters in the major leagues.
The price, however, was steep. Ginn is widely considered one of the very best pitching prospects in baseball, and Oakland will have him, and Oller, under team control for six seasons once they reach the majors.
However, one has to give in order to receive, and the 2022 Mets are a much better team with Bassitt on their rotation.