At the start of June, the Mets looked like a good bet to be sellers at the trade deadline.
In the end, the team made six additions by Tuesday’s deadline – five of them pitchers – which was a fair reward for their play over the past eight weeks, and there was a positive vibe going into their 2-0 win over the Twins just after 6 p.m.
“This is big,” Sean Manaea said of the team acquiring his friend, Paul Blackburn, and two relief pitchers on the final day of the trade deadline.[The front office] I believe in this team, I believe in everybody here, so to make a move like this is huge. It’s just all around great.”
In a market that doesn’t produce many big-name talent, and in a year in which the Mets had no hope of acquiring a superstar, president of baseball operations David Stearns revamped the relief corps with the additions of Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Huascar Brazovan and Tyler Zuber, strengthened the Mets’ starting pitching with the acquisition of Blackburn and added depth to the corners of the outfield with the acquisition of Jesse Winker.
It was an exciting win for a team that has bounced back to 33-17 since June 1 and was one game behind Atlanta in losses for the wild-card spot when it left Citi Field on Tuesday.
Plans for Blackburn remain unclear — he has a 4.41 ERA and is just returning from a lengthy injury layoff — and manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game he hasn’t spoken to Stearns yet, but Manaea had nothing but good things to say about his former Athletics teammate.
“He’s very consistent with what he does when he pitches,” Manaea said. “He’s very quiet, but he’s very consistent. He’s a great guy.”
Mendoza said multiple times Tuesday that he wanted the day to be a normal one.
But he knew more than anyone that these new additions would send a message to the clubhouse: The Mets had changed their equation, and the front office acted accordingly.
“It helps, we’ve seen it,” Mendoza said. “I remember when Luis Torrens came in. [Jose] Iglesias. We’ve continued to add new players. Whether it’s from Maton or from Triple-A, they always help out. Different faces, different energy, different atmosphere.
“They’re professionals. They understand that it’s a business and sometimes different people are going to walk through the doors. The good thing is, we’re like a family there, and the players will adjust to what we do there.”
It turns out what they’re doing now is actually pretty good.
