Just Mets

After the twists and turns of the past few days, failed trade of Carlos Gomez and reports making it look as if they may be close to a deal for Jay Bruce, the Mets finally got their big bat right before the 4:00 PM deadline on Friday.

The Mets have acquired slugging left fielder Yoenis Cespedes in a trade with the Tigers in exchange for minor league pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa, the club announced.

Cespedes will be activated on Saturday. He will wear number 52, and Carlos Torres will switch to number 72.

A corresponding move on the active roster will be announced on Saturday.

Cespedes, 29, has hit .293/.323/.506 with 18 home runs, 61 RBI, 62 runs scored and an .829 OPS with an American League-leading 28 doubles in 102 games with the Tigers this season. He is a free agent at the end of the season and cannot be extended a qualifying offer.

Cespedes will be activated in time for Saturday night’s game.

Cespedes is a perfect fit talent-wise for the Mets, and a much better fit than Jay Bruce. He’s a right-handed bat who would help provide quality lineup balance in the middle of the order. He has great power from the right side, has decent speed and is a fabulous outfielder. He has been more productive away from Comerica Park this season, but aside from the home runs he’s been generally fine at home and his splits have been even historically in the Oakland Coliseum. So, if the Mets were to acquire him, they probably wouldn’t have to worry about a drop off at Citi Field.

He has always been more productive against right-handed pitching in his career, but has badly struggled against left-handed pitching this season which isn’t indicative of his history. It could be a fluke, but it’s worth noting in the evaluation process.

What was huge for the Mets here was not only what they got, but what they gave up and what they kept. After originally being in the trade for Carlos Gomez and rumored to be involved in discussions for Jay Bruce, the Mets wind up keeping Zack Wheeler, who, while working his way back from Tommy John surgery, still projects to be a big-time starting pitcher for this team.

Fulmer is a pretty big price to pay, and this could ultimately be an overpay for the Mets considering Cespedes will likely test free agency this winter.

Fulmer has had injury troubles in his minor league career but finally came into his own at Double-A Binghamton this season, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.88 ERA in 15 starts in Double-A Binghamton. If he can stay healthy, he could eventually be a solid, top-of-the-rotation pitcher. But with the Mets attempting to seize their opportunity, they’re taking a worthy risk to make a run at the playoffs now.

After swinging and missing on Gomez in a turbulent fashion on Wednesday night, the Mets absolutely had to get a big bat and they finally did so in Cespedes. This guy brings confidence, swagger, a cannon of an arm in left field and most importantly a big-time power bat in their lineup.

Sandy Alderson finally did it, and made the biggest trade deadline acquisition for the club in the last 10-15 years. What’s more, he’s transformed this roster to make it October-caliber by adding four players while retaining all five of his big arms, Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and Amed Rosario.

Well done.