In a move that absolutely no one expected leading up to Wednesday’s MLB Trade Deadline, the New York Mets surprised the baseball world by trading for Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
The pitcher, a Long Island native and a Mets fan during his childhood, took to Twitter to share his excitement about the move.
While the Duke alum appears to be excited to join the Mets, few could’ve ever expected a move such as this to take place. Although the Jays had been shopping their ace for a while due to their status as a non-contender, many expected Stroman to be dealt to a team in the playoff mix.
The Mets, the owners of a 50-55 record which has left them in 4th place in the competitive NL East, are six games back of the second NL Wild Card spot with only two months to go in the season.
New York gave up two of its better prospects from its relatively weak farm system, pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson, in order to acquire the 2019 All-Star. The general consensus around baseball was that Stroman was going to cost a lot more than what the Mets gave up.
The Mets will now have Stroman on their team through the 2020 season and they’ll look to either surprise and get into playoff contention this season or to use Stroman for a run next season.
