Blue Jays acquires Steven Matz of Mets

TORONTO – The Blue Jays have continued their busy low season by acquiring left-hander Steven Matz from the Mets in exchange for three pitchers, the club announced on Wednesday. In the deal, the Blue Jays will send young Mets right-handers Sean Reid-Foley, Josh Winckowski and Yennsy Diaz. Matz is set to

TORONTO – The Blue Jays have continued their busy low season by acquiring leftists Steven Matz of the Mets in exchange for three pitchers, the club announced on Wednesday.

In the deal, the Blue Jays will send young Mets right-handers Sean Reid-Foley, Josh Winckowski and Yennsy Diaz. Matz will earn $ 5.2 million in 2021.

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The Blue Jays have been one of baseball’s most aggressive teams this offseason, as their headliner has been a six-year deal with star champion George Springer for a $ 150 million club record. They have also agreed pacts with Marcus Semien for a $ 18 million one-year deal and added aides Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood to their bullpen. After these moves, however, the initial rotation was the clearest need and Matz is the next step in fixing it.

TRADE DETAILS
The Blue Jays get: LHP Steven Matz
The Mets get: RHPs Sean Reid-Foley, Yennsy Diaz and Josh Winckowski

A shift to the commercial market is also reasonable at this time of the low season, for the Blue Jays, as they have done most of their business through a free agency and still have a deep fund of prospects to take advantage of. In statements Wednesday earlier, club president and CEO Mark Shapiro suggested there were still options on the table to improve the club after his aggressive free push.

“We have some flexibility, but most of our heavy load is done,” Shapiro said. “There are still opportunities for [GM] Ross [Atkins] and our baseball operations group to be creative in what they do. “

Matz, 29, is one of the Mets’ top prospects, at a point where he ranks 15th in baseball, according to the MLB Pipeline ranking in 2015. Leftists have shown flashes since then, but there have been some highs. and low along the way to New York. For his career, Matz has an effectiveness of 4.35 out of 107 initiates.

Shoulder discomfort limited Matz to just 30 2/3 innings in 2020 with an ERA of 9.68, but seasons 18 and 19 paint the most accurate picture of him as a healthy starter. During those two seasons, Matz averaged 30 outings with an ERA of 4.09. The talent is certainly there for something better, but that advantage will now be in the hands of trusted pitching coach Pete Walker.

With Hyun Jin Ryu as the ace of the rotation and No. 1 prospect Nate Pearson as the next in line, Matz will join a deep group of mid-level starters behind, including Robbie Ray, who returned to the Blue Jays in one year $ 8 million deal and Tanner Roark. The Blue Jays also have guns like Ross Stripling, Thomas Hatch, Trent Thornton, Julian Merryweather and Anthony Kay in the picture, so there’s no shortage of options in the back.

The Blue Jays are expected to continue in the market for other possible rotation updates, and opportunities could also be presented during the pre-commercial season, given the club’s salary flexibility and ability to sign contracts.

Reid-Foley is probably the best known name for Blue Jays fans after being recruited by the club in 2014 and making appearances in each of the last three seasons. The hard-throw right-hander has a 4.40-career ERA in the major leagues, and while Reid-Foley appeared as a starter in the minor leagues, the Blue Jays also saw potential in him, given his fastball combination and sliding.

Diaz, the club’s No. 26, according to MLB Pipeline, made his MLB debut with a lone appearance in 2020 and, until then, had not surpassed the double-A. A fastball with a lot of final action has been Diaz’s best tool through the minor leagues. Winckowski, the club’s No. 27 candidate, was a fifteenth-round pick in 2016 outside of high school, but has performed very well in the minor leagues, posting an ERA of 2.69 among Class A Lansing and the Class A Advanced Dunedin in 2019. Winckowski’s fast ball is close to 92 mph and the big profiles on the right as a long starter or unloader that could withstand a large workload.

Both Reid-Foley and Diaz had points on the Blue Jays ’40-man roster prior to the deal. Matz will take one of these while Semien’s deal, which has not yet been confirmed by the club, is expected to take the other, which will take him to 40.