The Mets have acquired right-hander Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers for right-handed minor leaguer Coleman Crow, per announcements from both clubs. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Houser and Taylor were going to the Mets for a minor leaguer. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Crow would be that minor leaguer.
David Stearns is plenty familiar with Houser and Taylor, having spent many years calling the shots in Milwaukee before becoming president of baseball operations for the Mets a couple of months ago. In both cases, the player has had some major league success but had reached arbitration and was in competition for playing time in Milwaukee. Instead, they will head to a Mets club that has been primarily focused on depth moves this offseason, while allowing the Brewers to clear a bit of payroll.
Houser, 31 in February, has been a solid contributor for the Brewers in the past five seasons, mostly as a starter. From 2019 to the present, he’s appeared in 120 games, 97 of those being starts. In his 523 2/3 innings pitched, he has an earned run average of 4.04. His 19.2% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate aren’t especially strong but he’s kept 52.5% of balls in play on the ground.
He has just over five years of service time, meaning he’s slated for free agency after 2024. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $5.6MM next year. Houser might project as merely a back end starter with just one year of control, but that’s still a relative bargain compared to free agents. The Mets paid $13MM to get Luis Severino for one year, while other clubs have given out comparable deals. Jack Flaherty got $14MM, Kyle Gibson $13MM, Lance Lynn $11MM, Wade Miley $8.5MM and Martín Pérez $8MM.
In Milwaukee, Houser was slated to be behind Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Miley, battling pitchers like Colin Rea, Joe Ross, Janson Junk, Aaron Ashby and Robert Gasser for starts. But instead, he’ll jump to a somewhat similar spot with the Mets. His new club has Kodai Senga, José Quintana and Severino in three spots, with pitchers like Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and José Butto options for the back end. The club has been heavily linked to Yoshinobu Yamamoto and everyone would move down one spot if they successfully land him, but Houser should be in line for a role at the back of the rotation either way. He will have a leg up on Megill, Lucchesi and Butto in the sense that they can still be optioned to the minors but Houser cannot, as a player with more than five years of service time.
Taylor, 30 in January, seemed to establish himself as a viable big leaguer in 2021 and 2022. He got into 213 games for the Brewers over that stretch, hitting 29 home runs and slashing .239/.300/.448 for a wRC+ of 104. He also got strong grades for his outfield defense in all three spots and produced 3.4 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.
But he dealt with an elbow sprain in Spring Training this year, which caused him to miss the first month of the season and then another month-plus in the middle of the year. He only got into 81 games and had diminished production when in the lineup, hitting .234/.267/.446 on the year.
He reached arbitration for the first time this winter and is projected to make $1.7MM, with two years of control beyond that. He was also going to be part of a crowded outfield mix in Milwaukee that includes Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins, Joey Wiemer and Chris Roller.
With the Mets, they have Brandon Nimmo in center but the corners are more questionable. Starling Marte was dealing with groin issues in 2023, missing roughly half the season and struggling when on the field. DJ Stewart finished the season on a hot streak at the plate but is a poor defender and better suited to be rotating through the designated hitter spot or pinch-hitting duties. Taylor’s righty bat could also potentially platoon with the lefty Stewart. Taylor has fairly neutral splits in his career but Stewart has been far better with the platoon advantage.
Crow, 23 later this month, was drafted by the Angels. He was traded to the Mets in the Eduardo Escobar deal in June but underwent Tommy John surgery in August, meaning he may miss most or all of the 2024 season. At the time of the Escobar trade, he was ranked the Angels’ #17 prospect at Baseball America and #8 at FanGraphs. He’s currently listed 25th in the Mets’ system at BA and 20th at FG. He tossed 128 Double-A innings in 2022 with a 4.85 ERA.
Aside from their pursuit of Yamamoto, the Mets have mostly been focused on adding depth this winter. They have claimed Penn Murfee, Zack Short, Tyler Heineman and Cooper Hummel off waivers. They have given one-year deals to Severino, Joey Wendle, Michael Tonkin, Jorge López and Austin Adams. They have also given minor league deals to Cole Sulser, Kyle Crick, José Iglesias, Taylor Kohlwey, Rylan Bannon, Trayce Thompson and Cam Robinson. Now they have bolstered their rotation and outfield with a couple of solid regulars.
For the Brewers, they are cutting a projected $7.3MM from their 2024 payroll. They are subtracting a bit of depth in the process but still have plenty of other options for their rotation and outfield even after this deal, while taking a flier on a long-term prospect in Crow.
Roster Resource currently pegs next year’s payroll at $104MM, well below last year’s Opening Day mark of $119MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. There have been plenty of trade rumors this winter surrounding guys like Burns and Willy Adames, but it doesn’t appear as though the club needs to make a move of either of those guys just for payroll purposes, assuming they are willing to have a similar payroll to 2023.
As for the Mets, they are taking on that $7.1MM but could end up paying more. RR currently has their competitive balance tax number at $298MM, just above the fourth and highest threshold of $297MM. As a third time payor, their tax rates in each bracket are 50%, 62%, 95% and 110%. But the tax isn’t calculated until the end of the year. If the club isn’t competitive at the deadline and they trade some players with notable salaries, they could change their final position. Though signing Yamamoto for something in the $250-300MM range would obviously push them even further beyond their current level.
The Mets got their guy!
Even if the Mets are fortunate enough to land Yamamoto, they needed another starter.
They should have kept one of Scherzer or Verlander. I get that they were both big contracts but one was tolerable and could’ve helped them moving forward.
Nah. They were out of the hunt. They got young, controllable assets. Scherzer and Verlander are almost done.
These are decent role player and Mets fans may not celebrate due to lack of name power, but these are solid contributors. Houser keeps his team in games, but does have a bad inning from time to time giving up a walk a hit and then a long ball – something along those lines. Taylor has a good arm, flashes some power, but is best suited to 7th or 8th in the order.
A walk, a hit, and then a HR is enough to lose a game. As for Taylor, are you suggesting the lineup at AAA?
I’d rather see Stearns focus on players that will actually be used rather than replicating Milwaukee. He has the resources to do so, without restriction.
The majority of most rosters are built the way he’s doing it. You have to hit on some of those fliers, at least in a supporting role. The Mets do have their share of large, multi-year contract, high impact players (i.e., Lindor, Nimmo, McNeil, Senga, Díaz) and young players to develop. They also need to extend Alonso and will bring in at least one more high impact player, like Yamamoto, but signings and deals like they just made round out the roster.
Trading a TJ surgery minor leaguer for a piece of a rotation is a solid move, no one thinks it’s anything else. Not everything needs to be mocked. It was quite shrewd.
That deal seems lopsided
It really does. I guess for salary relief? The Mets did well here.
Eh. Houser is a rental back end starter. Taylor hasn’t shown much. Maybe leans a bit to their side but it’s a nice easy way for Milwaukee to shed salary without having to dump one of their big guns.
Taylor was actually one of the hottest hitters in the league after he got past his injury issues last year. Probably top 10 for the last two months.
Terrible deal for the Brewers, who lack starting quality depth and who should have traded Wiemer (who seems like a bust already). I expect him to go as well, with Chourio set to be on the roster to start the season. Maybe even Yelich to play 1B.
Taylor actually found himself last season and if he can produce on the level of the last two months, you’ve gotten a guy who will perform WAY above his career marks.
Mets did better and easy trade for them to make but it’s a fair trade that helps both teams. Brewers could easily replace these guys. Got a free starting pitching prospect.
The Mets will end up paying $14 million in 2024, including taxes, for back end help towards winning 74 games.
Swell.
It’s not so much that Houser and Taylor are anything special, it’s that the Mets pay $7.5M for a 5th sp and 4th OF, where that would cost $10-12M in FA.
David Stearns poaching his old team.
Houser and Taylor really aren’t that good. This feels like a roster space move. I don’t think either player really had much value. Not quite sure on the end game for the Brewers but maybe another trade is coming
Taylor was a top 10 hitter in the league over the last two months (after he got over injuries).
I expected a break out year from him, but if he continues at that clip, he’s WAY better than his career stats so far.
I thought Wiemer should go. He’s one of the best defenders in all of baseball already, but he’s a complete bust at the plate.
Brewers cutting some salary. Crow is ranked 29th in MLB’s current rankings for the Mets (could change for the new year).
Both guys the Mets got are decent. Brewers save some cash and maybe get a good pitcher down the line.
I like this trade for the mets. They need quality depth, and this qualifies.
Depth? All Stearns has done is collect other teams roster cuts like STDs at a Wilt Chamberlain house warming party the past couple of weeks. Enough modeling the Oakland A’s roster and let’s get one or two pieces to build for 2025.
Patience grasshopper.
Don’t know anything about Coleman Crow, but Houser was to be in the rotation. And Taylor is no slouch. Makes me believe the Brewers are just getting started. Burnes, Yellich, Adames, Williams to follow?
I think the Mets had exposed him to the Rule 5 Draft. He has potential, but has been injured and had TJS, I think.
Trading two depth pieces who are barely contributors does not mean they’re trading their 4 best players lol
Things can be “lopsided” without trading your four best players….
But why Houser? Not saving a lot of cash here with these moves!
About $7.5M maybe?
Which could get them about a half a season of Jack Flaherty which is a pretty depressing thought.
He’s a rental. Brewers thinking about the future as well as the present. They could still sign a #5 now. Plenty of money to do so.
Especially since Crow had TJ surgery and will miss a good chunk, if not most, of 2024. He was acquired from the Angels for Eduardo Escobar.
I think brewers did it to so they can keep burnes and that 7 mil will go toward his earnings this coming season
They’d be keeping him until the deadline no matter what. While 7 million is the exact arb raise he’s getting, it’s not enough to break the bank.
Puzzling move by the Crew.
If the Brewers were that motivated to cut payroll and clear roster space, they could have just non-tendered these guys. The return seems extremely light.
But it’s more than they would have gotten if they had non-tendered them.
This return seems like it’s essentially nothing. And the guy still takes up a roster spot until spring training when they can use the 60-day IL. Must be something else going on here.
Crow isn’t on the 40-man.
Good move by the Brewers to dump salary. The OF was too crowded and Chourio should be called up in early 2024. That’s about $8 million dumped.
Time to look at Imanaga or Ryu.
Maybe go with Burnes, Imanaga, Peralta, Miley and Ashby.
Best starting rotation in that division.
Best closer as well with Williams.
Maybe add another bat at 1B/3B with J Turner or go cheaper with CJ Cron or Brandon Belt at 1B
I don’t know about Imanaga. He’s projected for a five year/$85 MM deal. And that wouldn’t include the posting fee, which would be another $14,6 MM on a deal that size.
I can’t agree that this is a good move by the Brewers. It looks more like Stearns big boy’d his predecessor.
Houser’s contract had some excess value in it and really so did Taylor’s. Moving them is not a big deal but basically getting nothing in return is bad.
You mean successor. Stearns is the predecessor.
It is. Stearns got lazy. He dealt a pitcher Baseball America likes with MOR upside if not a little more, for two players any competent GM can buy for nothing but money.
It’s a bizarre move if you look at it dispassionately.
The moves the Mets are making are incoherent, as if one day x is the goal, and by the weekend, y is the goal—which absolutely fits a team owned by Steve Cohen.
Why would you deal a player with a 10-20% chance of being in the rotation of the next Mets contender for a 100 innings at the butt end of the rotation for $6m and a $2m 5th OFer worth half a win in 2023 who can’t get on base?
Seems like you’re overstating Crow’s upside from what I’ve read. Coming off TJS, and before that, wasn’t overpowering and struggled with control, which isn’t a great combo. I’ve read more suited to BP, but may make it as a SP. Haven’t heard anything about MOR potential. They have so many guys with more upside (Tidwell, Scott, Vasil, Hamel, Stuart, Sproat) that he was expendable. So they save $5-7M on having to sign guys like this in FA, and not give up something they don’t already have in the farm system. Of course, we won’t know for a few years how it will turn out.
@Ma4170 Baseball America just called Crow “a fascinating target”? (The article’s out and free.–definitely worth a read and might sway your opinion.)
It’s just the opposite, on an admittedly smaller scale, of what the Mets did at the 2023 deadline, when they used money to build prospect capital.
Now they’re using prospects to save money, and they’re doing it at a time when they have no MOR-caliber starters above Rookie ball.
Has to be said, wnen you’re dealing useful prospects who might contribute to your next contender in return for spare parts, you’re doing it wrong.
do you know how many “fascinating targets” are out there for prospects. Megill was a fascinating prospect Cesar Puello was a fascinating prospect for the outfield. Captain Kirk Niewenhus was a fascinating prospect. Lastings Millege and Den Dekker were top prospects.
Akeel Morris was a very fascinating prospect and ended up with a whopping 22 innings for his career.
Prospects are a crap shoot especially when they have not shown much. He had a little hot streak before TJ but overall for AA he is pitching around 5 ERA. So thats a lot of upside your betting on.
@Roll Given you didn’t address anything I actually wrote, and made assumptions I haven’t, there just isn’t anything to add. Sorry, comrade.
Jack:
“Baseball America just called Crow “a fascinating target””
“Has to be said, wnen you’re dealing useful prospects who might contribute to your next contender in return for spare parts, you’re doing it wrong.”
Me:
do you know how many “fascinating targets” are out there for prospects. (then examples)
Prospects are a crap shoot especially when they have not shown much. He had a little hot streak before TJ but overall for AA he is pitching around 5 ERA. So thats a lot of upside your betting on.
So again you are betting on a lot of upside for someone that hasnt really shown much also going to add as was said before he could have been had for literally nothing by any team in baseball since he was not protected and going to be on the DL due to tj surgery so wouldnt have taken up a roster spot even. Sure you could end up with a decent backend guy but you could also end up with a Nick Zwack which is more likely and seems similar to his A numbers and prior year AA numbers and be part of a trade for he who shall not be named and be nothing but AA/ AAA depth
at this point they should just rename themselves to the new york brewers
Would fit Brooklyn better than Queens…
Decent rotation addition and needed outfield depth for a mid prospect. I like it!
Wow, thought he would get more back than that. What are the Brewers doing?
Cutting payroll.
You can say that again
And clearing roster space…
Hey guys. I wanted to talk to someone about cuttin’ payroll. Hope I’m in the right place.
Cutting payroll
Cutting payroll?
Cutting payroll!
You’s guys’ talkin’ payroll cuts?
Reducing payroll.
limiting expenditures
You know, signing Jason Alexander for a reunion with the Brewers would keep payroll down. I heard that’s the big payroll project they’re working on…. downtown.
@wvsteve Why, though? The Brewers gave up 2 largely fungible players for 6 years of Crow’s potential, while picking up $7m in salary relief.
What do you think a decent #5 starter and a 4th-5th OFer should get back? A healthy top 10 prospect? A 50 FV prospect?
For the price and years of control, Houser is a better option for this “punt year” than most available FAs.
I’ll put all my chips on Houser having a better year than Jack Flaherty at less than half the cost. Mets did quite well here.
Houser, 31, projects to around 105 innings of league average pitching. Nothing wrong with it, except for the claim of years, plural, of control being involved. He’ll be a FA in 2025.
As for a guy who K’s 7 per 9 and often has control troubles, the end is probably near, but so far he’s walked the tightrope well. In any case Stearns knows him, which helps.
The drawback is neither Houser nor Taylor will be on the next good Mets team, whereas Crow might have been. That’s a significant debit.
@Jack That makes sense, but there is also value in having players like this fill spots on the roster, and keeping higher-potential guys in the minors for a while longer (if you’re not planning to truly compete this year).
@jackStrawb.
Houser is a mixed bag. I wouldnt be down on him. Last year is probably the floor for him. He gives up softer ground ball type contact that turn in to infield singles and seeing eye singles. Walks and HRs hurt him this season. Contreras behind the plate burnes can’t pitch to. There could be similar results among other Brewer pitchers, and some of Housers shine returns, especially in a FA year. Brewers had a 6man rotation at times which reduces Housers’s chances at IP being bottom tier. Plus if I recall dealing with injury early season. Don’t be surprised he gives 140IP below 3.8 ERA this season.
Meh. Brewers have a full outfielder and apparently they didn’t want to pay Houser whatever he’s going to get in Arbitration
Good move for NYM. Mr Stearns starting to cook
Hope this isn’t a sign they’re out on YY.
This is no way an indication of Mets being out on Yamamoto. Even if they get YY, they needed way more rotation depth.
Sorry. My comment was supposed to be read with a Chandler Bing-like sarcasm.
Could they *be* any more out on YY?!?
Dead guy jokes = tacky
Chandler Bing is not a real person.
Meh, it’s only tacky if it’s disparaging. This is more a tribute, imo
Uh. Yeaah
YY going to the NYY’s
only reason i see the brewers giving away 2 major leaguers for a no name #29 prospect coming off tommy john is another trade or signing that they need to clear room for.
Agree. Burnes and Adames for 4 other Big Leaguers.
They could have just thrown Houser and Taylor into those trades instead. Or just traded them after they actually needed the roster space, and would have gotten at least as much return for Houser alone.
Yes, in addition to cost cutting, they’re removing two players from their 40-man roster for one who, even if he is added to their 40-man, can eventually be put on the 60-day.
Can’t really be mad about this. An arm and an outfielder for not an outrageous price.
I really like this move for the Mets. If they do land Yamamoto they’d be wise to go with a six man rotation. This helps to that end.
Yamamoto, Senga, Quintana, Houser, Lucchesi, Severino?
That rotation will never exist beyond perhaps one turn in April.
The #3-6 will never be healthy at the same time.
This is a great move by the Mets. The prospect they gave up is a lottery ticket coming off TJ surgery, and Taylor and Houser are legitimate major league roster guys that can help out the ballclub. If the Mets are out of it by July, they might even be able to get a prospect at the deadline better than the one they gave up for Houser. This must be a case of the Brewers needing to clear space (or payroll) on the 26-man roster and Arnold did his old boss a solid.
Any move that keeps Peterson and Megill on the bench is a good move
He’s not that much of an upgrade but we need the depth for the rotation
Peterson’s hurt and will be out a few months, though he was improving last year in his swing role. Megill needs to be more consistent. He’s probably behind Lucchesi in the order now.
Pointless distinction between Lucchesi and Megill. Both merely depth pieces in case of injury. the first opportunity would go to whoever happens to be pitching better in AAA at the time.
@JonnyS Any team that didn’t move Megill and Peterson to long relief years ago (and keep each in the minors for at least another year before bringing them up) is a badly run team.
Guess no Yamamoto for sure but he definitely prefers Yankees and Dodgers anyway. Nice fourth place finish again. $300 million well spent.
What? How are you concluding no Yamamoto from this trade?
This seems like a pretty strange one for the Brewers, seeing as they could have simply selected Crow in the Rule 5 Draft if they really wanted him badly enough. Seems like more of a salary dump than anything, but it feels like they could have done better than this. They didn’t really need Taylor anymore, but I figured Houser would be a fairly valuable back of the rotation stabilizer or swing man for them next year.
Well at least now they don’t need to carry Crow on their 40-man roster this year
Selecting Crow in the Rule 5 wouldn’t work. If he didn’t spend 90 days on the roster next season then he’d have to be re-entered into the 2024 Rule 5 draft. So it would have cost them the $100,000 fee and whatever Crow was paid, and they could have lost him. Even back to the Mets! This way they get to keep him (and his spin rates and breaking balls project well), while saving over $7mm for a pitcher that will be gone after this year and is average, and an outfielder that has been replaced by Chourio. It doesn’t help this year, but hopefully by 2026 or 27 they will have a mid-rotation arm. But this year is looking tough.
Houser projects to 105 innings of league average ball, for $6m. Guys like that don’t bring back serious, healthy prospects with good chances of being MOR starters or better, or good chances of becoming adequate MLB regulars.
They get fringy pitchers, guys recovering from TJ, position players with power but no position and a 33% K rate…. If you can buy a starter who’ll give you Houser’s projection for $12m (which is generous), say, that puts his surplus value at $6.3m.
That’s not a good prospect. It’s high teens, at best, a 45 FV hitter. Marginal.
Pure salary dump by Milwaukee. Could also be another deal in the works, as this clears two 40-man spots.
Mildly surprising they would move Houser, as the rotation lacks depth. Taylor is less surprising as the OF is crowded.
one of those spots will most likely go to eric haase, who they signed earlier… one would have to assume the brewers will do something to address the holes in the corner IF with the other available slot
There was already 1 spot open on the 40-man for Haase prior to this trade.
I think Gasser profiles as Houser type SP clone. So they go with him now instead of paying Houser for similar stats.
Let’s trade Burnes and company, retool for 2025 and come back strong.
At this stage what else is there to do? Don’t get trading Hauser.
Because he’s a back of the rotation guy that has barely cracked 100 innings the last two years entering his final year before free agency and projected to earn almost $6 MM.
That was my offseason hopes and it looks like its headed that direction. The record in 2024 might not be fun, but watching the kids they put out there will be.
After the Woodruff injury, that’s what I’ve been thinking. Trade Burnes and Williams for MLB ready prospects. Between those two, two good starting pitching prospects and a corner infielder prospect (plus more) should be easily obtainable. Run the bunch of young guys out and see who sticks.
This has to mean they were desperate to clear space on the 26-man for a bigger move right? RIGHT?!?!?
Taylor is a guy I’ve been interested in for a while. Seems like the Mets got a good deal.
When he’s given a chance, I think he is a very good player. I get the logjam, but its too bad he’s leaving.
I’m really surprised the Brewers couldn’t get more than an injured 28th round pitcher for Houser and Taylor. Even as a “salary dump” it really isn’t much relief. Looks like a great move by the Mets and a head-shaker by the Brewers. Something else much be going on, but what?
You would hope Arnold has another deal or legitimate FA signing coming but not counting on it. Wouldn’t a couple legitimate MLB hitters be nice?
There’s more upside to Crow than giving credit for. 28th rd picks out of HS who lose a season to 2020 can’t exactly jump up in recognition when they are also losing a 2nd year to TJ. He was just putting some shine to his name….Mets traded for him. TJ, they traded him away. 2 teams want him.
looks like a salary dump
With Woodys injury/departure now AAAAdrian being gone, that’s roughly 350innings of 3.5era ball (or less) gone, idk how Milwaukee legitimately can say with a straight face they’re actually looking to compete in ‘24, T Taylor is solid as well but with the outfield depth I didn’t expect him back, but yo AAAAdrian on his last year of control was going to be crucial to the Crews success, but if you’re not planning on having any….. The Crew have pulled it outta their asses many times before but that was with CC, Murph has his work cut out for him but if he can keep it from being a complete disaster, he’ll definitely earn his keep and will be able to reap the rewards in a few more years. Ashby and Gasser are going to have to show big this year and perhaps Misiorowski is closer than expected with a strong spring, The Crew are loaded talent wise but seem to be waiting on guys like Black, Wilken and Quero to season to really compete, lucky for them the NL central sucks and the cubs do a good job of making it interesting but they do not have the young pitching they will need to legit compete once the Crew is through this transition, however they do have the $$ to spend so that could change, regardless I suppose at this point I went from being 50-50 on the Crew being legit in for ‘24 and now it’s maybe only 20% chance they are, really what happens with Santana will show their intentions, will they go young/controllable, or cough up the 8-10 mil to really give themselves more of an honest shot?
I was looking forward to a new offensive philosophy with Cousell’s departure. Afraid that under Murphy, it’ll be business as usual.
They gotta find some consistency at the plate.
I agree. CC managed baseball was so boring and formulaic in a sport that doesnt really lend itself to surprises. He was a good manager, but he had no surprises and stuck to his plans for better or for worse.
You basically answered the SP solution relying more on Ashby and Gasser. Miley and Joe Ross say hi in that equation. If they keep Burnes with Peralta, there’s 6 guys to hope 5 make it out of Spring Training healthy. I think finding out what offensively Chourio-Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer- and Turang produce up to this year’s trade deadline will provide clarity how to approach it.(Forgot Black) If not around 1st. Burnes will be a bigger asset to the Large market teams then, still getting a return they likely are mulling right now. There are other players to trade off. Around 1st, things may be in place for a stretch run with a trade themselves.
Brewers saved 7M and got rid of an OF that wasn’t going to get any playing time. As for houser good luck in NY
Sadly, that’s life with a small market team. Seems pointless to pay Burnes at this point. He’ll never be worth more,
Good riddance to them. They both are a PITA to the Cubs.
Houser’s a solid back end starter and Taylor’s a solid fourth OFer with some pop and the Mets gave up an injured average prospect solid trade. This looks like a pure salary dump by the Brewers.
Prior to TJ, the Mets just traded for Crow. They wanted him. He has more upside than is being given.
Stearns with some inside knowledge – Houser is a nice pickup.
I can’t believe this article lists Quintana as if he’s a solid #2 or #3. He’s had injury problems and can’t last 4 or 5 innings. He gets in trouble after turning the lineup over. He’s better served as a long reliever
I wouldn’t mind Houser normally as a fifth/sixth starter. However, with how the rotation is currently is constructed, this move is a slap in the face to Met fans everywhere. Right now its Senga, Quintana, Severino, Houser, and one of Luchessi or Megill. Severino and Houser are fifth starters at best, not your 3 and 4. Quintana is reallly a fourth starter and Senga is really more of a 2nd starter, wouldn’t consider him an ace on a playoff team but on a bad team hes an ace. Sleepy Stearns finally woke up a bit but its too late. The offseason is a collasol failure no matter how well you spin it. No bullpen, below average hitting, and a below average starting rotation. Bad GM and an even worse owner in Steve Costanza Cohen
Are you Greg Pomes by chance?
Maybe you haven’t heard, the Mets are targeting Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If they are fortunate enough to land him, a six man rotation of:
Yamamoto
Senga
Quintana
Houser
Lucchesi
Severino
would be pretty freaking good for a self-described transition year.
Even if they get Yamamoto they still need a #2 SP a lefty like Montgomery, Senga is a very good #3 than Severino/Houser/Quintana as 4 & 5, need a DH (Soler/Hoskins) or send Miami a prospect for Josh Bell.
If they don’t get Yamamoto then next year they have senga and nobody.
At least the trolls on this site are entertaining…callosal
since the mets are so bad and beyond help you should go and help another team. No No No dont worry the mets will be fine without your “expert” analysis and glass eye i mean “great” eye. We will put together the funds to bus you out to san diego since you can help push them over the top.
With your very limited knowledge of baseball, at the least you should know that is ISN”T MARCH 28!!!
Jesus you sound like a WFAN caller at 3am on a coke binge
Nah LFG thinks he is in the penthouse like he is the son of god or something. floor number 7 mr_met?
The Brewers did the Mets a solid on this one. If they can somehow land Yammie it will make for a good winter for the good guys. So far so good Mr Stearns.
100%. I don’t get the whiny fans saying the Mets have had a terrible offseason. If they land Yamamoto I think it’s been very solid. Though they probably need a stopgap DH solution and another BP arm or two.
That’s still a big if. Every team could say they could have a great offseason still “if”.
Could have been worse: they could have traded for Janson Junk.
Mets have Acquired Intelligence Deficiency Syndrome.
They won this trade.
Careful or They will accuse you of having Human Intellectdeficiency Virus
Metz are stacking bodies that is all
Muted
Tyrone alone should be worth more than this guy they got in return.
Agreed. It’s stunningly one sided at this point. Established guys with control for an injured lotto pitcher. Whatevs.
On its own this isn’t a bad trade for the Mets as guys to fill out the 26 man roster with. But my god have they ever had an underwhelming offseason to this point. It seems like every deal they’ve made is for a guy who should be the 24-26 man on the active roster.
Minassian trades Crow and a higher ranked prospect for 3 months of Escobar and a -1 WAR. Mets flip half of the package for 2 guys that would probably help Angels in 2024.
And Angel fans say “here’s why we can’t have nice things.”
Agreed. Bad teams like the Angels are always too focused on trying to make a “big splash”: Pujols, Rendon, Bundy, Upton, Cozart, etc. Good teams and GMs are always focused on building out their roster first. Stearns has been known for making under the radar moves his entire career. Any team with a marginal 4th outfielder should have made this move. Both Houser and Taylor are major upgrades over Suarez and Cabbage, respectively, and cost less than 1/5th of Rendon’s salary combined.
Angels ownership is way too involved in the baseball decisions. That’s a big problem over there
i dunno if houser can handle the NL East, might see that ERA balloon to 5
Is the Mets stadium a launching pad compared to Am-Fam field? He’s a very unlucky pitcher because he induces softer contact that turn in to infield hits or seeing eye singles. Poor infield defense will hurt him. He’ll be spectacular if he keeps the well hit balls in the park. Easier in NY no?
Hope this is the last of the parting gifts the Brewers have for Stearns. Regardless if we are clearing space for future trade….Brewers got hosed. Teams are hungry for SP and CF help with proven MLB talent. I never thought they valued Houser as much as they should have. Steady if not spectacular, and reliable inning eater.
B for Mets. Surplus value is worth more than prospect.
C for MIL. Fair enough value.
Do these guys the Mets got require a 40 man roster spot?
Yes. Both are out of minor league options.
David Stearns front office doesn’t leak. Encouraging for NYM fans. The promise that more deals or FA signings will come suddenly and without warning and to the surprise of Heyman, Martino etc.
Taylor is fine. You don’t want him out there for more than about 300 ABs but he’s fine. He’ll more than likely have a hot streak in there but he’s fine. Houser is a perfectly serviceable 5th starter who if he gets it going might get you to believe he could be a fourth starter.
If anyone’s still reading this far down, I think the Brewers should sign MLBTR to negotiate. Cheap back end starter, should’ve netted more.
Another salary dump. When can we dump owner Attanasio??
Can’t call it a dump til Opening day and it’s not been redistributed elsewhere. The prospect has a future in MLB.
Good trade for Metsies but Come on Cohen and Stearns. For Xmas we want Yamamoto, Soler DH/OF, Whit INF/OF or old pal Justin Turner DH/INF. If we can’t get Yamamoto you have to get 2 of the other 3.
A #5 starter that has barely cracked 100 innings the last two seasons, entering his last year before free agency and projected to earn $5.5-$6 MM and a fourth-outfielder type that has fallen to no better than sixth on the depth chart entering his first year of arbitration and was a non-tender candidate.
@pdxbrewcrew Finally, some sanity. The “Mets won this one!” posts were getting nauseating.
Houser’s better than a #5, though. #5 starters don’t post a combined league average ERAs over 3 seasons (it’s less pretty if you take his 2022-2023 average, though). He’ll probably give the Mets a respectable half season and with Butto and Lucchesi combine to give the Mets ONE decent #4 starter.
Small market teams don’t pay $6m for 100 innings guys who put up a 4.73 ERA the year before, and should have better options at 4th-5th OFer than paying $2m to a 30 year old in obvious decline coming off a 0.5 WAR season in 2023 and a .279 OBP for 2022-2023. The Mets can afford to pay for the comparative certainty of slightly better than replacement level production since they don’t have enough guys like this on the farm.
Crow’s not stellar, but you shouldn’t be trading guys with MOR upside for Houser & Taylor when they’re available for just cash on the FA market. If you wanted a Houser, why not get two of him for the price of one Kyle Gibson?
As for Crow, I just noticed BaseballAmerica likes him a lot.
Enough to call him “a fascinating target.”
baseballamerica.com/stories/why-is-coleman-crow-a-…
And then Stearns said “honest, Mark A, this deal is good for both of our teams”
More proof Mets fans will need to be patient for a couple years…
Stearns was the assistant in Houston that recommended drafting Houser…he also brought taylor back to mke.
I like this deal. While i would prefer a better 3 between Houser Quintana Severino Lucchessi Megill and eventually Peterson you have a decent back end of the rotation and swing man. I would like a Monty or Yamamoto to be the other end with Senga to be somewhat competitive in a rebuild year. Next year has quite a few good pitchers becoming free agents more than this year.
For the Brewers they are looking to clear some space. They have a small army of talented young outfielders. Taylor was just in the way. Houser had been solid but not quite the guy he appeared to be in 2021. That said he’s likely to get better with age. Obviously a salary dump. The kid they got back is years away from the majors.
He’s about two years away.
Only because of TJ.
The Brewers dumped two players that reached their peak with them. And their peak was below average at the MLB level. As usual they will get cheaper mediocre players to play for them. Not sure why they took the “29th best prospect” from the Mets. You get past the top 10 prospects or so and almost none of them even play in the Big Leagues beyond a brief appearance or two.
Stearns first trade with Brewers he got Peralta and two other lottery picks, for Adam Lind. Peralta wasnt even in the top 30 for Seattle.
Read the Baseball American article on Crow out in the last 18 hours.
Then you’ll know why the Brewers won this trade, though the Mets did get a couple of useful, expensive spare parts.
Based on this trade, they should get a José Canseco Fleer card for Burnes, and Curt Schilling’s bloody sock for Adames.
A serviceable back of the rotation starter and a 4th OF for a minor league pitcher that just had TJ surgery and will miss all of 2024?
I would be gutted if I were a Brewers fan. Houser is a possible great #4 and he’s extremely cheap given the market. If you aren’t moving Burnes right now, then go for it. Instead they dump 2 useful players for $7M in relief. While the guy they got back has a dope name, it was almost a non-tender situation.
Just my opinion but if your “rich” owner needs to cut $7M off payroll when you aren’t up against any tax thresholds. Maybe your owner shouldn’t have a team. No reason, any team, let alone a mid-market one like Milwaukee should be trying to pinch pennies. Be honest with your fans and either go for it or start the rebuild/retool.
Or just maybe Crow, who Mets traded for prior to needing TJ, is a legit SP future.
Meanwhile, there’s 7+M that the FO can allocate at a different position between now and Opening Day, before you consider it cutting and reason to not own a team.
This is the way small markets have to operate, especially in this case as their local TV deal isn’t massive and they can’t even guarantee they will get it from Bally’s anyway.
Large market apologists don’t get that. They just say they shouldn’t own a team. If their team had to operate like a small market, they would spontaneously combust.
@This one belongs to the Reds Well said.
For small market owners the fun has to come from just being in the game, from just surviving and winning a few.
As a Brewer fan, I wouldn’t be so dramatic as to say gutted.
Surprised? Yeah. I would have thought those two combined would have gotten more than a minor league pitcher. They have a good problem with the log jam in the OF.
As with most trades, see how it pans out—in 2025?
“Gutted”??
Gutted because this feels like a net negative move. Maybe after Yamamoto signs and the rest of the SP free agent market begins to settle. They’ll explore moving Burnes for example. Houser is a strong #4 that’s making less than half of what guys of that ilk are getting on the market. Taylor is at best am above average 4th outfielder. The return feels like a penny on the dollar.
While the JJ Hardy transaction tree is still going strong, Houser was the last piece left from the Carlos Gomez trade to the Astros. Kind’ve the end of an era.
So crow doesn’t extend that tree? Who is extending the Hardy tree?
I didn’t say he didn’t, I just said he was the last player remaining in Milwaukee from that Gomez deal.
Josh Hader was involved in the same deal so technically William Contreras is part of that to and so is Gasser, that “tree” is still growing and flourishing in Milwaukee and prob always will..
I know, I’m aware, I’m simply saying Houser was the last one left in Milwaukee from the Gomez trade.
Testing 1, 2, 3…
Mets need to cut payroll. I expect the head boss to sign Matt Carpenter to man third base and DH in an upcoming signing (if he doesn’t sign with the Reds or Pirates).
Houser seems to me to be a good #5 and someone the Pirates could have really used as a stopgap starter this year before he becomes a free agent.The Brewers May not have wanted to trade him within the division but the Pirates could have taken both players and given something better in return,plus some money.
I don’t know why Yelich won’t help the team and move to 1B. They have a need, he’s tall and has a poor arm.
Huge. This is better than getting Ohtani and Yamamoto. Stearns is a winner.
Stearns gave up nothing to acquire a proven 5th or 6th starter for depth, and a serviceable backup CF. This was a case of a savvy GM understanding the team he was dealing with. Stearns did just fine to steal a back end starter offering nothing but salary relief.
Houser will do well in a pitchers park vs AmFam(Miller).
@Shawnpe “Stearns gave up nothing…”
I’ve been experimenting with blocking people when even a single sentence betrays rampant idiocy and a total indifference to reason.
Farewell, Shawnpe. Farewell.
What a foolish and typical trade by the Brewers!
Guess Arnold had to make room on the roster to sign Joe Bob Wachinski a 6’1 280lb DH that Arnold once saw hit a home run in a Sheboygan softball league last year. After all, there’s a quota and the team needs to look like the home unis as much as possible.
Nothing to do with the mythic “small market” excuse used by many here for the Brewers. MKE is a middle market team that routinely cries poverty.