Keon Broxton to Mets; Bobby Wahl, Adam Hill, Felix Valerio to Brewers

[AJOHNSON104]

I see them adding another OF with MLB experience on a Minor League / Spring Training invite deal. Gives them another option in case of injury. The AAA guys don't look ready for any significant time in MLB yet and the Perez, Thames, etc. group is really just a flexibility play and shouldn't be counted on for any longer time frames.

Good trade though.

[Baldkin]

I always loved Keon. Shame his bat never came around.

 

Could he ever move in the outfield.

 

[SRB]

Fangraphs gave Wahl's fastball a 70-grade back in 2017:

 

Wahl’s stuff came back after elbow surgery in 2015 and was sitting in the mid- to upper 90s last year. He has a power breaking ball that misses bats when he breaks it off well, but he doesn’t do that consistently. He’s an arm-strength relief prospect who could debut this year, but a lack of command and a consistent, bat-missing secondary likely limits his ceiling to middle relief despite the 70 heater.

 

I'm of course most excited about Valerio though. Crazy stats so the upside is something to dream on.

[Thurston Fluff]

It appears to be a win all around. Broxton seems like a guy who needs to play regularly and he wasn't going to get that here. The Mets needs OF help and they got a very good defender who has some upside offensive even with the holes. Potential 20 hr 20 steal guys who can play defense at an high level have value. Especially at his price. We trade a spare part for minor league depth with a nice combination of pre 40 man roster guys and AAA talent with options remaining to keep the major league shuffle functioning.

Good luck Keon, you were fun to watch. On defense anyway.

[Jenkins5]

Guessing Hill was another guy there were very high on in draft but was taken before they could get him. When you are a competitive team but still have ability to make deals like this to bring in 1 possible Knebel type RP prospects and two promising lottery tickets, that is always nice. Need to keep prospect stable growing even when competitive

 

This deal reminds me of Lind trade except quicker return with Wahl.

[stalton]

Is this official or can the Mets change their mind (or back out)?

 

 

Asking for a friend

 

There's questions about Keon's hip. /blue

[Nader Raider Tim]

Man I loved the upside Broxton had but as soon as Cain was signed Broxton needed to go. Now lets see the Brewers get crazy with it and try and make a value run at AJ Pollock. With that you can play Braun as 4th outfielder / part time 1st baseman. It gives you 2 guys who can still play a great CF.

 

Bring back Moose and roll with that on offense. Try and bring back Gio, or sign Brett Anderson or Clay Buchholz or maybe even Drew Pomeranz (sp?).

[adambr2]

I guess that talk of Broxton having no value wasn't exactly true. Best of luck to him in NY.

 

Even though Gamel is more of a known quantity than any of these guys. I think you could pretty legitimately argue that the Broxton return was better than the Santana return.

[homer]

Valerio is a little dude 5'7". Let's hope for Jose Altuve redux (plus an inch or two).

[coolhandluke121]

My first thought was to worry about what would happen if Cain got hurt for an extended period next year, but then I realized they probably wouldn't sniff the playoffs if Cain got hurt anyway, even with Broxton, so I like it. The return is rock solid. Was wondering what they would do with Broxton and Santana. OF trade market is much better this year apparently. Glad they had the patience (as usual) to wait until the time was right. Also glad they're not attaching an asset or paying a bunch of salary just to dump Thames.

[RockCoCougars]

So the options if/when Braun goes down are Ben Gamel, Hernan Perez and Cory Spangenberg?

 

Exactly. No outfield depth anymore and both this and the Santana trade were massive sell lows with underwhelming return. I don't like how this off-season is playing out at all. Love what Stearns has done to this point, but it seems like Dean Taylor has been running the ship the past few months.

[Boomer5]

Love this trade. Upside prospects for a guy who really can’t be a regular at the mlb level.

[SRB]

My first thought was to worry about what would happen if Cain got hurt for an extended period next year, but then I realized they probably wouldn't sniff the playoffs if Cain got hurt anyway, even with Broxton, so I like it.

 

If Cain gets hurt they can just move Yelich to CF and use Gamel/Thames in RF (not ideal obviously but probably better than starting Broxton in CF everyday)

[wntrtxn21]

I don't see the Crew even thinking of Pollock. He had almost identical stats to Braun and is reportedly looking for L. Cain type money. Way to much for a #4 OF. Plus he has a long history of injuries. I don't think Stearns has any interest in Gio based on what he has done lately. He is definitely looking at the downside of his career and little more than a fill-in starter now. Bucholz is a RH so he's out too since the Crew is loaded with RH pitchers. Pomeranz is a LH, which the Brewers desperately need, but he made $8.5M last year and is looking for a sizable increase. I don't think Stearns is going there either. Miley remains an option at around $5-6M.

[markedman5]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mets-send-three-prospects-to-brewers-for-keon-broxton/

[trwi7]

Love this deal. Can't believe we were able to get this much value for Broxton.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

So the options if/when Braun goes down are Ben Gamel, Hernan Perez and Cory Spangenberg?

 

Exactly. No outfield depth anymore and both this and the Santana trade were massive sell lows with underwhelming return. I don't like how this off-season is playing out at all. Love what Stearns has done to this point, but it seems like Dean Taylor has been running the ship the past few months.

 

Disagree with this. Love the return in this trade and Santana types have lost value in general the last few years. Stearns isn’t perfect but we will always need to make these type of trades to replenish the farm.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Love this deal. Can't believe we were able to get this much value for Broxton.

 

My heart just stopped.

[jerichoholicninja]

Certainly more than I would have thought Broxton could have brought back.

 

Reflecting on the trade that brought him here originally, all it took was Jason Rogers (who's now playing indy ball) to get a 4th OF who made some good contributions to the MLB team and a potential bullpen arm. I think that was a Stearns deal. Either way, worked out great for us.

[splitterpfj]

Keon was fun to watch - what a tease, he's one skill away from being a superstar - but he is what he is.

 

I'd have done this deal, why not - you've got three kids to hope on, and they all have some potential - seems like a solid idea.

[markedman5]

One big skill........lol

[sveumrules]

I guess the poster that assured us Broxton would make the 25 out of spring was correct...just for the Mets.

 

I figured teams would wait us out on both Domingo/Keon & try to pick them up for just a waiver fee out of spring training. That Stearns was able to deal both for interesting returns are two more checks for me under the "Maybe This Guy Knows What He's Doing" column.

[colbyjack]

I agree with the overall assessment that I'm a little surprised to get a multiple-player return for Broxton, and while the Mets aren't exactly giving away premium, top prospects, there could be a serviceable major league or two among the three players. Wahl I remember well when he pitched at Ole Miss as a big-bodied hurler, although it's not especially encouraging that a college arm hasn't made much of an impact in the big leagues at 26-27 years old.

 

I had the opportunity to see Adam Hill in person last March against Brady Singer and the Florida Gators. I wasn't blown away with what I saw but he was solid 1-2 times through the Gators lineup. His stuff didn't stand out but he certainly had a knack for missing bats, which usually points to a greater extension, higher spin rate and/or some other quality a pitcher possesses outside of one's pure stuff.

 

I make note of that in the report I filed with video:

 

 

Hill entered his game against the Florida Gators second in the nation in strikeouts with 43, recording those in just 23 innings of work while also allowing only seven walks and nine base hits. He did however have a 3.91 ERA, which suggests some big innings, not to mention big hits, and considering he had given up three home runs of those nine hits that would seem to be the case.

 

He certainly looks the part of a staff ace, with a listed 6-foot-5, 225-pound frame, and it’s well-proportioned strength throughout. His delivery is clean and repeatable and he does a nice job maintaining his arm speed on his secondary pitches. By the fifth inning, when his velocity dropped a couple of ticks, it looked as though his arm may have dropped a little as well, spending most of the game throwing from a traditional three-quarters delivery.

 

In the first inning he came out pumping fastballs, registering a couple of 94’s and 95’s but sitting for the most part right at 93 mph. The pitch has some late life at times, but he does elevate the pitch frequently, of which it can straighten out. He extends well out front, with his TrackMan readings being fairly true to his 6-foot-5 stature, but it did seem to cause his fastball to play up a little. The pitch sat in the 91-93 mph range for his first four innings of work but was down to 89-91 in the fifth inning, working 4 2/3 innings in this game against the No. 1 team in the nation, not to mention the defending national champions.

 

His breaking ball was inconsistent, thrown like a curveball but acting like a slider at times. It was at its best when thrown in the low-80s, right in the 81-83 mph range, and had a shorter but sharp break to it. When thrown in the upper-70s it acted more as a get-me-over pitch he could drop in for strikes to keep hitters’ timing off-set from his fastball velocity. His change was thrown at 84-85 mph and didn’t really change much, more of a true slow ball than a pull-the-string variety without much fading movement, although his arm speed was replicated well.

 

Despite giving up five walks in 4 2/3 innings he was always around the zone and didn’t battle with control issues, staying composed and focused on the mound. Two of the three runs he allowed came across to score after he had left the ballgame in a 7-3 loss to Florida, and he allowed only three base hits. Hill did strike out six, as he continued to miss bats thanks to his fastball and extension, and none of the contact he allowed was particularly hard. However, he frequently was out of sync, and his drop in velocity in the fifth is of concern considering that he had sat in the 91-94 mph range, and maintained that velocity, in every start he made this year so far leading up to this one.

[NYChez]

If a player on another team’s 40-man is acquired through a trade, that player automatically is placed on the 40-man of the acquiring team, correct?

[Oxy]

If a player on another team’s 40-man is acquired through a trade, that player automatically is placed on the 40-man of the acquiring team, correct?

 

I think there is a week long time period or something like that where the acquiring team can decide what to do with him (trade him, waive him or put him on the 40 man). If the Mets 40 man roster was full, that would give them time to trade or waive somebody else to make room for the acquired player.

 

Nice to get something for Keon. It would take simultaneous multiple 2+ month long DL type stints among our top 4 OFs to actually miss Keon this year. Even then, the youngsters might be just as good. We have plenty of guys to fill in on a week-to-week basis.