Mets deal David Robertson to Marlins in a confusing move
Mets general manager Billy Eppler is back with another confusing deadline trade. This year, the Mets, the team with the highest payroll in MLB history, have become sellers. They have traded away step-in closer David Robertson to division rival Miami Marlins. New York gives up three months of the 38-year-old Robertson, who has been very solid this season.
As a return, the Marlins gave up 18-year-old rookie ball infielder prospect Marco Vargas, alongside rookie ball catcher Ronald Hernandez. Vargas was the 18th-ranked prospect in Miami’s system with Hernandez ranked as the 21st-best Marlin prospect. They jump to sixth and 18th for New York’s farm, according to MLB.com’s Mets prospect list.
Why would you make this trade at this time if you’re Eppler? Robertson was likely the best relief arm on the market. Don’t get me wrong, I like the two prospects that the Mets got in return, but they won’t be in the big leagues until likely 2026 and 2027, respectively. The Mets’ biggest farm needs right now were not a catcher like Hernandez or even an infielder like Vargas, but rather MLB-ready starting pitching and maybe another outfielder.
The best negotiation tactic would have been to wait until the deadline day to get a better offer than this. Trade him to a team that you’re not trying to chase this season. Trade him to a team in the American League, or better yet, some team that isn’t directly ahead of you in your division.
For Kim Ng and the Marlins, the time is now to be buyers. The Marlins sit at 55-48 at the time of the trade, 0.5 games out of the third NL Wild Card spot. Miami has a very solid roster and has stacked up some wins at this point in the season, but July has been very rough for them. The Marlins have won only two out of their last 10 games and are 7-13 in the month. They need to maintain their status and keep winning. An effective closer like Robertson is a great start to the deadline for them, but they’ll need to add more.
Obviously, we don’t know how a trade will work out until all the pieces either reach MLB or fizzle out. For the Mets, we won’t know how this trade will work until a very long time from now. For a team that has an extremely high payroll and has failed to meet expectations, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Mets trade more than just David Robertson.
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