The New York Mets knew in advance that trading Jeff McNeil was going to be tough. The Mets didn’t exactly have a lot of trade partners to acquire a 33-year old second baseman with limited range, declining offensive numbers and a bad clubhouse reputation after a season filled with turmoil and disappointment.
As Stephen Parello of Rising Apple pointed out, there are usually two choices with this kind of trade: (1) take a fringe roster player who may or may not stick (2) go with a younger, secondary prospect who’s basically a walking lottery ticket.
The Mets chose the lottery ticket, and his name is Yordan Rodriguez. Rodriguez signed wit the Athletics out of Cuba for $400K, which is short money in the world of international prospects.
It’s not nothing, though, and Rodriguez has already shown some promise. Ben Badler of Baseball America had Rodriguez rated as one of the top 20 pitching prospects in the Dominican Summer League this past summer, according to Parello, with a fastball that was already hitting 96 mph.
Then there’s the age/frame combination. Rodriguez is still only 17, and he’s 6’3” 190 pounds. Scouts look at that combination and see all kinds of potential when Rodriguez fills out a little, and Rodriguez went through a brief 15-1/3 inning stretch where he posted a 2.93 ERA while striking out almost a dozen batters.
There’s no real sample size, and that’s the point. Rodriguez is 17. His pitching future is a blank canvas at this point, and the Mets will be getting him into their development program early, which is often an advantage.
Then there’s the other half of the equation. The Mets already have plenty of fringe roster players, so much so that it' been one of their major problems. One of the reasons GM David Stearns is doing a detailed makeover is due to what he saw as flawed roster construction, with too many players like McNeil who really didn’t fit or provide any kind of specialized advantage.
Rodriguez might. Maybe he figures it out early and rockets through the minors, in which case the McNeil deal becomes a steal. Maybe he’s a role guy who provides value in the bullpen, which is fine, too. Or maybe he joins the endless list of pitchers who flame out early or wind up having Tommy John surgery. All of those options are in play, but the best one with McNeil was to try to make chicken salad out of a tough situation.