SAN DIEGO — The Mets have added another significant — and unique — late-inning arm to their bullpen.
On the eve of the deadline, the Mets and Giants completed a trade that will send standout submariner Tyler Rogers to Queens.
In a package that contains plenty of prospect name value, big league reliever José Buttó plus Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell will head to San Francisco .
David Stearns identified the bullpen as the club's largest need and has added hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto and the soft-tossing, under-handing Rogers before Thursday's deadline.
The Mets are acquiring right-hander Tyler Rogers from the Giants. Getty Images
Rogers, a free agent at season's end, nearly scrapes his right hand on the mound when he pitches. The unique angle has proven difficult to hit — he owns a 1.80 ERA this season and 2.79 mark for his career — and might help his durability.
With the slowest fastball in MLB (averaging 83.3 mph), Rogers leads the majors in games pitched (53) and led the majors in the category a season ago (77). Against an arm angle rarely seen in today's game, neither lefties nor righties have hit the 34-year-old well.
Rogers will slot into a bullpen that no longer houses Buttó, who hugged teammates as news spread during the early innings of Wednesday's series finale at Petco Park. The righty had pitched to a 3.64 ERA in 47 innings this season, a nice, multi-inning threat out of the bullpen but without Rogers' upside and without a minor league option remaining. It is possible that Buttó, who has not been a leverage arm for much of this season, might have been a few poor outings away from a DFA.
Tyler Rogers Getty Images
Blade Tidwell went to the Giants in the trade. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Jose Butto was also in the trade package. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
In Gilbert, the Mets are losing part of the haul they received from the Astros in the 2023 Justin Verlander swap. The center fielder was having a nice, if not excellent, season with Triple-A Syracuse (.785 OPS with 12 homers in 81 games) but likely was below Carson Benge and Jett Williams in the hierarchy of Mets prospects who could become everyday center fielders.
It was Billy Eppler and not Stearns who traded for Gilbert , who was ranked 12th among Mets prospects by MLB Pipeline.
Tidwell debuted this season and flashed good raw stuff in four games . A starting pitcher ranked as the 10th best in the system, the 24-year-old pitched to a 4.22 ERA in 79 innings with Syracuse this year. He might not have survived the entire offseason on the 40-man roster.
