The Oakland Athletics have traded right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard to the New York Mets in exchange for righty Casey Meisner. The Mets also received cash considerations in the deal.
The Mets have acquired RHP Tyler Clippard and cash considerations from Oakland in exchange for minor league RHP Casey Meisner.
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 27, 2015
The Mets, who sit at 51-48 and two games back of the Nationals in the NL East, have been rumored to be interested in big hitters like Gerardo Parra and Carlos Gomez. Instead, they improve their already great bullpen (2.86 ERA) by acquiring Clippard.
In 38.2 innings with the Athletics, Clippard posted a 2.79 ERA and a 3.89 FIP. At first glance, those look like good numbers. But his strikeouts are way down from his previous seasons and his walk rate is at its highest since 2009. Other than that, the biggest thing the Mets need to worry about is home runs with Clippard. Clippard has allowed a 63.2% fly ball ratio (the highest mark among qualified relievers), but only a 4.5% home-run-fly-ball-ratio. The fact that he’s now allowing more home runs is astonishing, which is why his xFIP is 5.31. Odds are, Clippard is about to start giving up some long balls.
Meisner, on the other hand, is just 20 years old and has yet to advanced past High-A ball. He’s not much of a strikeout pitcher and has some control issues, but obviously he has a lot of time to improve. You have to trust Billy Beane knows what he’s doing.
This trade is not going to push the Mets over the top, as adding a reliever rarely makes a significant impact on the overall team. They’re still going to need to add some offense if they want to play in October.
