The Mets were defeated by the Marlins 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

New York has now been shutout 11 times this season. 

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Mets figure to have plenty of innings available post trade deadline, and Robert Stock put together a strong audition in his first big-league start since 2021. The journeyman 36-year-old right-hander cruised through the Marlins lineup, holding them to just one run on three hits while striking out four in a career-high five innings. 

Stock retired the first six batters he faced before giving up a leadoff single in the third. He allowed a two-out knock to put two on, but was able to strike Kyle Stowers out to strand the pair. The righty followed that with a perfect fourth, but the Marlins were able to finally break the scoreless tie in the fifth on a Joe Mack solo homer. 

Stock got the next two batters to fly out, ending his return the big-league level on a high note. 

-- Three of the Mets' top bullpen trade pieces got one last audition ahead of Monday's trade deadline. Brooks Raley needed just eight pitches to breeze through the top of the sixth, Luke Weaver followed suit with a nine-pitch seventh, then Huascar Brazoban struck out two in a clean eighth.  

The scoreless day from the bullpen ended when Devin Williams gave up a run in the ninth. 

-- Unfortunately, New York's offense couldn't get much of anything going again, as their struggles continued facing off with Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara. The right-hander threw even better than Stock, holding the Mets to just four baserunners (two hits, two walks) while striking out five over the first five innings.

-- They finally pieced together a rally following the seventh inning stretch, as the first three reached to chase Alcantara and load the bases, but back-to-back strikeouts from Jorge Polanco and Francisco Alvarez and an A.J. Ewing fly out squandered the massive opportunity. 

-- The Mets had another big chance after getting a leadoff double down the right-field line from Francisco Lindor, but the heart of the lineup was set down for a second straight wasted chance. 

-- New York did bring the tying run to the plate after Pete Fairbanks issued a pair of walks in the ninth, but Ewing flew out to left-center to end the game. They stranded a total of 10 runners as a team and finished an ugly 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position on the day.  

-- While the offense wasn't there again, Carson Benge enjoyed another strong day with the glove in right field. He raced back to make two spectacular catches and rob the Marlins of extra base-hits, helping Stock in the second and then Weaver leading off the seventh. 

Game MVP: Joe Mack

The young catcher's solo homer gave the Marlins the early lead, which held up. 

Highlights

What a catch by Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/xHzCXr29x2

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2026

ANOTHER outstanding catch by Carson Benge! pic.twitter.com/Gx1SsRycgi

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2026

What's next

The Mets are off Monday but will certainly be busy ahead of the 6 p.m. trade deadline. 

They'll then return to action Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. against the Guardians. 

The manager of the team that most needed Tarik Skubal sat in his office Sunday at Angel Stadium. The Milwaukee Brewers, the team that opened play Sunday with the best record in the major leagues, did not get Skubal.

The Dodgers did. Of course they did.

“L.A. is America’s team,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Not based on the cries from across America, from fans outraged that the Dodgers helped themselves to the best available talent yet again to baseball insiders mystified that the Detroit Tigers could not land a better return for Skubal than the three prospects the Dodgers swapped, or at least taken a couple more days to pursue a better return.

“Was I rooting for the Dodgers to get Skubal? Personally, no,” Angels pitcher Brent Suter said. “I was hoping another team that hadn’t won the World Series the past couple of years was going to get him.”

Suter pitched for the Brewers for seven years.

“They have a loaded farm system,” he said. “I thought they were going to get him.”

The road to the World Series runs through Los Angeles. The Brewers also posted the best record in the majors last year, then the Dodgers swept them in the National League Championship Series.

In last year’s NLCS, the Brewers started an opener twice, Freddy Peralta once and José Quintana once. In a five- or seven-game series this October, the Brewers could have started Jacob Misiorowski twice and Skubal twice.

That could have mitigated the Dodgers’ huge advantage in slugging. The Dodgers have seven players in double digits in home runs. The Brewers have four.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers traded just 3 minor leaguers for Tarik Skubal. Why couldn't your team do that?

But any and all statistics obscure the larger point: If you’re a Brewers fan, when is your year?

The Brewers never have won a World Series. They are in line for their eighth playoff appearance in nine years.

Sustainable success is nice, and difficult to achieve. Much credit to the Brewers, who play in baseball’s smallest market.

But the point of the game is to win the World Series. If you’re not going all in when you have the best record in the majors for the second consecutive year, when are you going all in?

If not now, when?

“I know we made our efforts, too,” Murphy said. “I trust the way we operate. I understand the way we operate.”

This is all the more maddening in Milwaukee because, in 2008, the Brewers tried their best. That July, they traded four prospects for Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia. Only one, outfielder Michael Brantley, developed into a productive major leaguer. That’s the norm, not the exception, in multiprospect trade packages.

As it turned out, the Brewers lost in the first round of the playoffs, and Sabathia did not survive the fourth inning of his lone postseason start. Then he signed with the New York Yankees. So what? The Brewers went for it, and their fans believed.

After the trade for Skubal, Fangraphs increased the Dodgers’ chance to win the World Series from 25% to 31%. That still means a two out of three chance the Dodgers do not win.

“He’s an amazing player,” Suter said, “but it doesn’t mean a guaranteed World Series. It doesn’t guarantee anything.”

I could not believe the number of fans that reached out to say small-market teams could not match the Dodgers’ proposal because they had little chance to re-sign Skubal as a free agent.

Again, so what? We’re playing to win the World Series, not the Baseball America prospect rankings.

Read more:Plaschke: Tarik Skubal trade brings Dodgers hate, envy ... and another championship

The Brewers, with small-market resources, touted former Angels infielder Luis Rengifo as a significant winter free-agent signing. The Dodgers countered with Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker.

“L.A. is America’s team and has all the big names,” Murphy said. “Now they just added to that, with maybe the best pitcher in the game, certainly one of the greats in this era.”

If the Brewers and Dodgers meet again in October, Murphy will only be too happy to tell us who the underdog is.

“It’s going to be David and Goliath,” Murphy said. “We haven’t earned that right yet. We haven’t got there yet.

“If we get there, I’m sure the narrative will be pretty similar: the haves and the have-nots.”

Murphy wanted to make one thing perfectly clear: Fans across America might despise the Dodgers, but he does not.

Read more:Shaikin: Love it or hate it: Would the Dodgers' NL West rivals call a Tarik Skubal trade overkill?

“They’ve got a bunch of great dudes,” he said. “Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar [Hernández]. I don’t know [Shohei] Ohtani. He doesn’t even know who I am. But I feel like Ohtani is a great dude. I can just tell by his presence.

“How can you not love [Max] Muncy? Doc [manager Dave Roberts] is my good friend. [Coach Dino] Ebel, we’ve got his whole family playing for the Brewers.”

The Brewers made first-round picks of Ebel’s sons Brady and Trey over the past two years, paying $5.55 million in signing bonuses. The Ebel boys are top prospects. They can look forward to a long stay in Milwaukee.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

To say that Matthew Liberatore has struggled this season is to state the obvious. But, he tossed one of the best games of his career Sunday in Toronto as he completely shut the defending AL Champion Blue Jays down for 6 innings outdueling the Blue Jays Max Scherzer in the process. The Cardinals offense would come through late in the game to help them avoid another series sweep by Toronto.

The St. Louis Cardinals sputtering offense didn’t exactly set the world on fire. They did score first in the top of the 3rd inning when Nathan Church drew a one-out walk. Two batters later, Lars Nootbaar turned on an 84 mph changeup and turned it into a RBI double scoring Church and giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. This would be the lone Cardinals threat of the first 8 innings of the game.

Matthew Liberatore gave St. Louis the kind of outing that they expected when the season started, but have rarely seen. He was throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and locked down the Blue Jays throwing a one-hit shutout for 6 innings. I can’t remember Matthew being better any game this season than he was Sunday versus the Blue Jays.

Max Scherzer deserves some credit, too, for his effort. He threw 6 full innings only allowing the 1 earned run, 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking just 1. In typical Scherzer style, he argued his way out of being taken out of the game in the top of the 6th inning.

You knew that the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen would enter the fray at some point and Sunday it was the bottom of the 7th inning when Ryne Stanek got into a jam, but also did a Houdini-like escape act to get out of it unscathed. George Springer hit an 87 mph Stanek slider off of the right field wall for a triple immediately putting himself in scoring position. Ryne rose to the occasion and struck out Alejandro Kirk and got Ernie Clement to foul out to Herrera to end the inning.

After the Cardinals wasted a leadoff single from Blaze Jordan in the top of the 8th inning, George Soriano was responsible for preserving the narrow 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th. He was able to get the first two outs with no trouble, but gave up a 2-out single to Gimenez who advanced to second on a wild pitch by Soriano to get into scoring position. Luis Urias made him pay for it when he ripped a 3-0 slider into the left field corner for a game-tying RBI double. Fortunately, that’s all they’d get as Guerrero Jr. grounded out hard to Winn at short to end the Blue Jays 8th.

The St. Louis offense would do something Sunday it hasn’t done lately. The Cardinals rallied in the top of the 9th inning. Masyn Winn got it started with a leadoff walk. Bryan Torres then singled to right giving St. Louis runners at first and second with no outs. José Fermín caught up with a 98 mph sinker singling in Winn and giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. It could have been much more as Nathan Church popped up a bunt that Kirk made a great play on for the first out. Blaze Jordan then grounded into a fielder’s choice that almost became a double play, but Blue Jays reliever Varland didn’t cover first base in time. It looked like that’s all the Cardinals would get when Lars Nootbaar hit a grounder to Urias who somehow turned an easy final out of the 9th into a throwing error that allowed Torres to score giving St. Louis a 3-1 lead and they didn’t stop there.

Jordan Walker took advantage of the extra out the Blue Jays gave them by stroking a single to left scoring 2 more and giving the Cardinals a rare commanding 9th inning 5-1 lead.

Surely the St. Louis bullpen could preserve a 4-run 9th inning lead, right? Riley O’Brien would be the man to answer that question as he came in to shut down Toronto and avoid a series sweep by the Blue Jays. O’Brien’s 9th didn’t start in a positive way as Okamoto hit a single into center that Church tried to scoop up casually, but allowed the ball to bounce away giving Okamoto second base for free. George Springer squared up a 97 mph sinker, but it went directly into the glove of Church in center for the first out. Riley then whipped a nasty 96 mph sinker past Kirk for the second out. That left Ernie Clement as the final hope for the Blue Jays. He grounded out to Masyn Winn who rifled a throw to first for the final out and a much-needed Cardinals victory.

The St. Louis Cardinals head to New York for a 3-game series versus the Yankees Monday. Michael McGreevy is the scheduled starter for the Cardinals while it’s Cam Schlittler for the Yankees. First pitch scheduled for 6:05pm central time at Yankee Stadium with the game broadcast available on Cardinals.tv.

Detroit Tigers vs. Athletics

Time/Place: 4:05 p.m., Sutter Health Park
SB Nation Site:Athletics Nation
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Even with heavy interest around the league ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, the Mets decided to run Clay Holmes out for one last rehab appearance Sunday. 

The big righty went out and threw five-plus innings in front of a handful of potential suitors in Brooklyn. 

The Diamondbacks, Phillies, Rays, and Rangers were the four teams with scouts in attendance for the outing, according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post. 

Holmes gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but needed just five pitches to erase that, as a fly out and double-play ball helped him breeze through the inning.

Winston-Salem got on the board with runs each of the next four innings, though. 

Holmes was hurt by an error in the third, and stolen bases in both the fourth and fifth, before his day came to an end with a man on-base in the top of the sixth. 

Overall, he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out three. 

This is expected to be Holmes' final outing in the organization this season, as he said himself that being moved seems the most likely outcome ahead of the deadline. 

If that's the case, the 32-year-old was tremendous during his two years as a Met.  

New York took a chance on his transition to the rotation last offseason and he responded by becoming one of their most reliable arms, racking up a 3.26 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 42 outings. 

Earlier this week, the Cubs designated right-handed starter Jameson Taillon for assignment. Today, they completed a trade that sends Taillon to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations or a player to be named later.

The Cubs have traded Jameson Taillon and cash considerations to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) August 2, 2026

Taillon signed a four-year, $68 million free agent deal with the Cubs before the 2023 season. He struggled in his first year with the Cubs but then settled in as a solid innings-eater for the next two seasons, putting up an ERA of 3.27 in 2024 and 3.68 in 2025. But Taillon struggled mightily this year, going 2-6 with a 5.92 ERA. He missed almost six weeks with a hamstring injury and got lit up in his first two starts back. That led the Cubs to move on and designated him for assignment.

It should be noted that Taillon was universally liked as a teammate, with many Cubs saying he was a terrific friend to everyone and a mentor to younger players. That should help a Blue Jays clubhouse that at least one player has claimed is lacking in chemistry.

Taillon goes to the Blue Jays, who are having a nightmarish season after coming within two outs of a World Series title last year.

The Cubs have a makeup game with the Blue Jays at Wrigley on Thursday. It’s very possible that Taillon makes his Blue Jays debut in that game.

The Rays currently have three starting pitchers in the low levels of the minor leagues putting together strong seasons that have boosted their prospect stock. All three have improved their outlooks this season and have strengthened their cases to remain starters long-term. While there’s still risk in each profile, they currently project as potential backend starters with room for more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rays move any of these guys as part of a trade package at the deadline.

RHP Jacob Kisting

Jacob Kisting was acquired from the Twins this past offseason for Eric Orze. Kisting is a 6’5 RHP who throws from a low 3/4 slot. His four-seamer sits in the low 90s but gets on hitters quicker than expected thanks to his low release height and above average carry. Kisting has good feel for his two-seam variant, and neither fastball projects as more than a fringy offering on pure stuff alone. He also has a pair of average secondaries in the low-to-mid 80s; a cut-slider and an offspeed pitch with above average fade and plenty of velocity separation. He has excellent feel of his offspeed pitch to the point where he can manipulate the shape to get more depth or fade depending on the situation. His low slot, deception, and ability to command the entire arsenal allow his stuff to play above its raw grades. Kisting has maintained plus whiff and strike rates this season in Bowling Green and looks ready for a promotion to Montgomery if there are innings available. Maintaining his command will be key for him to work as a middle-to-backend starter.

RHP Aidan Cremarosa

With a no-hitter this season, Aidan Cremarosa has already gained some attention while pitching in Charleston. The 6’3 RHP throws from a 3/4 slot with plus extension that helps his low 90s fastball gain a few ticks in perceived velocity. He has great feel for a low-70s breaking ball that he can land in-zone to steal strikes, but Cremarosa’s best weapon may be his low-80s offspeed pitch, which features solid movement and excellent velocity separation from his fastball. He also throws a low-80s cut-slider that allows him to generate plenty of strikes and weak contact. Cremarosa currently looks like a backend starter, but given his physical projection, he could find a bit more velocity and look more like a number three starter.

LHP Blake Morgan

Blake Morgan has enjoyed a strong start to his professional career. The 6’1 LHP throws from a high slot and features three pitches: a low 90s fastball, a low 80s gyro breaking ball, and a low 80s offspeed pitch. The fastball and breaking ball are fringy offerings, but his unique slot and plus command help him keep hitters off balance. Morgan’s best pitch is his offspeed pitch – it has plus fade from his high release point, and its velocity separation from the fastball is excellent, making it a clear plus offering. His feel for strike throwing gives him a safe floor as a backend starter, with a potential ceiling of a Jeffrey Springs-type starter. Morgan could raise his game by finding a second breaking ball shape to give hitters on both sides of the plate a different look beyond the first time through an order.

The Rays have taken their ability to identify and develop offspeed pitches to new heights in recent years. This is evident in some of their up-arrow pitching prospects as well as their offspeed usage and success in the majors. Any of these three names may be a potential target of other teams in a trade package. If they remain in the organization, any of these three could reach the majors by 2028.

I try not to dwell on negative emotions, especially anger and especially about things like baseball that are ostensibly sources of joy for me. But I confess that this morning, I find myself raging about Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers, overwhelming any emotions I have about the Mariners trading Luis Castillo to the White Sox. I guess what I’ll say about the Skubal deal is that now that it’s done, the entire baseball world really ought to be lining up behind the Mariners as the only team that can defeat the Dodgers in the playoffs.

At any rate, the big news of the day remains the farewell to La Piedra. I wish him nothing but the best. I will never forget his performance in his first home start in T-Mobile Park.

This afternoon, though, the ball will go to George Kirby, perhaps for the last time as a Mariner. Let’s hope it goes better than his last outing, when he was taken deep by the Rangers four times on Monday and tied for the third-worst game score of his career.

Lineups

News

LHP Josh Simpson is here to take the place (temporarily) of Luis Castillo on the roster. Seranthony Dominguez is expected to report to the club on Tuesday after the team’s off-day, along with Brendan Donovan.

The Mariners also announced that INF Buddy Kennedy, who was DFA’d on the 28th, was claimed off waivers by the Giants, the team the Mariners had originally acquired him from.

The Twins made a roster move of their own; pregame they optioned RHP Jack Anderson (not former Mariners prospect Jack Anderson) to Triple-A to make room for their new acquisition RHP Dean Kremer.

Michael Arroyo was here at T-Mobile Park earlier, which initially caused quite a stir among the assembled media, but he was just here to get checked out after being hit by a pitch the other night in Tacoma and to pick up some gear from Randy Arozarena, who sent Arroyo home with a boxful of extra shin guards, cleats, and other swag. He’s in Tacoma’s lineup today for their 1:30 game.

Game Info

First Pitch: 1:10 PDT
TV: Mariners TV
Radio: Old Reliable

First Chuck: 3:10 PM (new anthem each week!)

The Tube: Twins.TV

The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network

Spies ‘R Us: Lookout Landing

Earlier this month, news came from the Star Tribune that longtime columnist Jim Souhan would be sharpening his last pencil—clacking his last typewriter—pecking his final keyboard—tapping his final device. Whatever metaphor you’d like to envision for “sportswriter retires”.

I won’t render any sort of positive or negative verdict on Souhan the person (of which I don’t know enough) or Souhan the “successful writer” (every scribe will compose some columns we agree with and others we disagree with—that is the nature of the business). But Souhan’s retirement does make me reflect upon the ways in which I receive my baseball news have changed in just the 30 years I’ve been intensely following the sport.

There was a time in which newsprint truly was the gold standard of baseball info. For me, this took two forms:

• The Baseball Weekly subscription my parents would get me for my birthday every year
• My grandfather reliably—some might say metronomically—getting me the daily Star Tribune while I spent the summer months at his cabin lake home

This was of course supplemented by nightly baseball news on cable TV programs like SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight. But beyond reading a timed publication or watching a timed TV show, there was no instant baseball news at my fingertips.

With all that in mind, columnists like Souhan told me what to think about the Minnesota Twins. On one hand: a helpful narrowing of the information portal (like a TV news anchor or a Blockbuster Video section with X number of titles). On the other hand: An un-democratic narrowing of the information portal in the sense that all opinions were being put through the “Souhan filter” (of which most professional journalists will try to avoid, but cannot of course do so entirely).

This is where I might usually make some sort of value-judgement statement on the sports journalism situation, but I have no proclamation here. While the capital-I Internet gives everyone (including yours truly) a chance to pontificate on the National Pastime, it also makes it that much more difficult for the true professionals/experts to make a career of it.

So, while the accuracy or personal enjoyment of Souhan’s scribbles will ultimately fade into the background with time, his retirement makes me contemplate the nature of sports journalism and how we’ll likely never see an era like his again. When Patrick Reusse either absconds or goes gentle into that good night, it will really hit home.

Of course, it won’t take you until Monday morning to get the recap of this Minnesota Twins versus Seattle Mariners clash. I’ll have the particulars—for better or worse—to you by the time you are back from your own lake cabin or other late-afternoon Sunday activities.

Click here for Lineups!

It’s series finale time, and the San Francisco Giants are in need of a win to split their four-game date with the San Diego Padres.

Righty Landen Roupp takes the mound for the Giants, making his 22nd start. Roupp has had an up-and-down season, and is 7-9 with a 4.12 ERA, a 3.38 FIP, and 114 strikeouts to 48 walks in 113.2 innings. He struggled in his last outing, giving up four runs in 3.2 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

For the Padres, it’s lefty Kyle Hart, after scheduled starter Michael King was pushed to Monday. Hart, who is presumably an opener for a bullpen game, has made 28 appearances this year, and is 0-2 with a 4.87 ERA, a 3.79 FIP, and 36 strikeouts to 13 walks in 40.2 innings.

Enjoy the game, everyone!

Lineups

Giants

1. Luis Arráez — 2B
2. Bryce Eldridge — DH
3. Heliot Ramos — LF
4. Rafael Devers — 1B
5. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
6. Willy Adames — SS
7. Drew Cavanaugh — C
8. Drew Gilbert — CF
9. Osleivis Basabe — 3B

RHP. Landen Roupp

Padres

1. Luis Rengifo — LF
2. Jake Cronenworth — 2B
3. Manny Machado — DH
4. Ty France — 1B
5. Jackson Merrill — CF
6. Luis Campusano — C
7. Gavin Sheets — RF
8. Xander Bogaerts — SS
9. Sung-Mun Song — 3B

LHP. Kyle Hart

Game #112

Who: San Francisco Giants (47-64) vs. San Diego Padres (57-54)

Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California

When: 1:10 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Mets finally found a package they liked for Freddy Peralta, moving him to Tampa Bay for three prospects most fans have likely never heard of. Indeed, none of these prospects ranked in the Rays’ top-10 per MLB pipeline. There’s more to like to this return than you might think, however.

Émilien Pitre is the headliner (insofar as there is a headliner) of this deal. Taken in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Kentucky, Pitre is an undersized second baseman originally from Canada. He returned to High-A to start this season after an unremarkable 2025 and has basically done nothing but hit since then; 128 wRC+ at A+, 155 wRC+ in Double-A, and a .308/.438/.447 slash line across two levels with more walks than strikeouts. The knock here is the lack of power, as Pitre has only average-ish EVs and a propensity for ground balls. The realistic projection is a table-setting, OBP-heavy 2B with solid defense who could be ready by the middle of 2027, with upside for a bit more if the Mets can coax out improvements to his vertical spray.

Aidan Smith is almost a mirror image of Pitre. He’s got plus exits, run times, and overall athleticism, but he’s managed to strike out more than 30% of the time in the low minors while posting a combined line 30% worse than league average. He probably just can’t hit, but occasionally these guys do put it together. He’ll have the rest of 2026 and all of ‘27 to figure it out in the Mets’ system before they’ll need to make a call on adding him to the 40-man roster. Overall it’s high-risk, high-reward swing on a prep that was at one point very highly regarded (was part of the return for Randy Arozarena in 2024).

Finally, we have Gary Gill Hill, a local product (born in New Rochelle, attended high school in Somers) who was selected as a prep arm in 2022. Like Smith, his surface level stats are unimpressive; K% under 20% and a mid-4s ERA in Double-A this season. Unlike Smith, the path to improvement is a bit more clear. Gill Hill has a diverse arsenal and feel for multiple pitch shapes. Refining those shapes and/or adjusting his mix could lead to quick gains, and there’s mid-rotation upside here on a fairly reasonable time horizon.

Back to the view of the return as a whole. First, the Rays have (as usual) one of the deepest systems in baseball; getting three players outside their top-10 for Freddy Peralta and his high-4s ERA is by no means a bad return in a vacuum. Second, raw system ranks are not the most useful of measurement tools, particularly at this point in the season (maintaining list quality on a running basis in-season is hard, and Pipeline is not the best source in the first place). There is a lot to like here, combining both floor and upside, proximity and long-term value.

Finally, we should make the point that this return is likely more valuable than the present value of the players the Mets gave up for Peralta in the first place. Yes, both Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat were top-100 names at the time of the deal, but both have seen their stock decline significantly this season to the point where it’s not longer clear that either will be meaningful contributors. Given how poor Peralta was as a Met, recouping this much value should be regarded quite positively.

We’ll have full grades for every deadline deal the Mets make once all the moves for the deadline have been made. Check back in for those next week.