For the second time in just over a month, the New York Mets sent a veteran player into a pennant race within the division. The Mets have completed a trade that will send outfielder Jose Bautista to the Philadelphia Phillies for either cash considerations or a player to be named later, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. Bautista, who hit .204 with nine home runs and 37 RBI’s in 83 games for the Mets, is expected to serve as a bat off the bench for the Phillies. This will also be the third team in the National League East Bautista has played for this season considering he began the year with the Atlanta Braves, making him the first player since Kelly Johnson in 2014 to play for three teams in one division in one season.
The trade is also the second between the Mets and Phillies this season after Asdrubal Cabrera was sent to Philadelphia in late July for AA pitching prospect Franklyn Kilome. The return for Bautista is negligible, but it was important for the Mets to move him for a variety of reasons. Bautista was going to stand to lose a ton of at bats given the Mets’ current log jam of outfielders, with Brandon Nimmo returning from the disabled list today to join Michael Conforto, Austin Jackson, Jay Bruce, and eventually Dominic Smith. Moving Bautista is one less mouth to feed, and it also does Bautista a solid by getting him into a playoff race for the final month of the year. Since the Mets picked up Bautista in late May he has been a good soldier and provided excellent leadership to the younger players in the clubhouse. Giving Bautista a chance to pursue a playoff spot and potentially a World Series ring was the least the Mets could do.
One other interesting nugget about the Bautista trade is the fact that it clears a valuable spot on the 40 man roster. The Mets may need to use it in order to activate captain David Wright off the 60 day disabled list later this week. Wright has moved his rehab assignment to AAA Las Vegas and the clock on his assignment expires on August 31st, so the Mets may activate him on September 1st if he looks good in AAA. Rosters expand to 40 players on the 1st, so the Mets could theoretically carry Wright on the active roster without having to manage around his limited playing time.
The Mets still have a few days left to make deals before the August 31st waiver deadline, with the biggest chip left on their board being lefty Jerry Blevins. Blevins, who has already cleared trade waivers, is being shopped now according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
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