The New York Mets had a new need come up by the day of the trade deadline that nobody had expected. Previously, the blue and orange were said to be shopping starting pitching, feeling they had an excess while continuing to pursue a return to postseason baseball.
However, the injury bug that has been rearing its head around the Mets locker room all season struck again, taking down a pair of starting pitchers. Christian Scott suffered a right UCL sprain, and 2023 all-star Kodai Senga was hurt in his season debut, suffering a regular season-ending calf sprain.
Suddenly, the blue and orange needed a starting pitcher and found a trade partner in the Oakland Athletics, acquiring former all-star Paul Blackburn in exchange for minor-league pitcher Kade Morris.
Paul Blackburn is excited to contribute to the Mets down the stretch
Blackburn will have his first chance to contribute on Friday when he makes his Mets debut against the Los Angeles Angels and made a post on Instagram to declare his excitement for his debut in the blue and orange.
“I couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter in my career,” Blackburn said via a post on Instagram. “Having the opportunity to be a part of something special and contribute in a pennant race is what every player dreams of. I look forward to meeting and getting to know everyone in Queens!”
The 30-year-old hasn’t had the best 2024 campaign after being forced to miss over two months because of a right foot stress reaction. The injury certainly hampered the 2022 all-star as he has made just nine starts this season, pitching 51 innings to a 4.41 ERA with a 1.157 WHIP while striking out 38. However, that didn’t seem to concern the president of baseball operations, David Stearns.
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“We think he’s going to fit into our rotation nicely,” Stearns said earlier this week. “This has been an extremely consistent pitcher throughout his big-league career, he fills the strike zone well and has kind of a kitchen-sink approach to what he does.”
Time will tell how the acquisition of Blackburn turns out for the Mets, but his enthusiasm to compete should be a welcome site for the Flushing Faithful as the pursuit of postseason baseball continues.
