Mets Get Creative In Landing A.J. Ramos From Miami Marlins

The New York Mets haven’t been known for their creativity under General Manager Sandy Alderson, who has developed a strong reputation as either a buyer or a seller. With the team having a poor season, many expected the Mets to sell off players, which Alderson began doing yesterday by flipping Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitching prospect Drew Smith. Smith could help out in the big league bullpen as soon as September, a clear hint that Alderson is looking to reshape his bullpen as the Mets look to reload for 2018. Alderson’s next move, however, actually could be a stroke of genius.

It was just an ordinary night for the Mets in Seattle until Ken Rosenthal dropped this bomb on Twitter, Woj style:

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Speculation was wild about what the Mets would have to give up to make this trade happen, with many assuming Gavin Cecchini was heading to Miami after he was pulled in the seventh inning of Las Vegas’ game. That ended up not being the case, as Joel Sherman reports that the Mets sent two prospects to the Marlins, RHP Merandy Gonzalez and OF Ricardo Cespedes. Both players ranked inside the team’s top 30 prospects on MLB.com, with Gonzalez ranking 9th and Cespedes 22nd, but both players are at High-A St. Lucie. While they are intriguing prospects, neither one will make a big league contribution for several years.

This move is a home run for Alderson, who essentially executed a buy for 2018 in the middle of his 2017 sale. Ramos is a proven reliever, having recorded 92 saves in his career for the Marlins, and is under team control through the 2018 season. This move is essentially serving as a replacement for Addison Reed, who will be a free agent after the season and is expected to be traded prior to the deadline on Monday. Ramos will team with Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins to form an elite trio in the back of the bullpen, giving Alderson a great head start on building a bullpen that can serve a contender. The move also works great for Alderson by taking another reliever off the board in his quest to move Reed for a high return. Ramos would have been a good alternative option for teams looking to add a right handed reliever, but with him off the board it takes a potential move off the board, perhaps upping the ante for Reed. It is truly outside the box thinking that the Mets have rarely displayed under Alderson, and it could allow him to replace Reed for next season and land a big prospect to boot.