It would seem in the wake of their future plans for Matt Harvey being derailed due to a UCL tear and possible need of Tommy John surgery, the New York Mets have looked to rebuilding their future.
According to reports on Tuesday, just a day after Harvey -along with the Mets slim hopes- was lost for the season, the fourth place Mets (58-71) dealt slugging outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates for shortstop prospect Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later.
The Pirates (76-54), meanwhile, can use all hands on deck as they look to take over the National League Central division, which they currently trail the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals (77-54) by half a game, explaining the need for a trade to shore up some power bats.
Byrd, 35, has been having a great year for the Mets this season and will look to help Pittsburgh reach the postseason for the first time since 1992. Byrd is hitting .285 with a career-high 21 homeruns and 71 RBIs. He'll be an improvement over the Pirates current right fielders who have a combined .232 batting average. Byrd will hit free agency this winter, and is owed just $70,000 on his current deal.
Byrd hit his career-high 21st homer of the season Aug. 20 against Atlanta at Citi Field. The video can be seen below:
Buck, 33, became expendable in New York once highly touted prospect Travis d'Arnaud became healthy and started suiting up for the Mets every day. Buck will most likely be the back-up catcher to Russell Martin and play in a limited role. After getting off to a hot start this season with a great April, Buck is now hitting just .215 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs. Buck, who will also become a free agent this offseason, is owed the remainder of his $6 million on his salary, estimated at $1.25 million.
The Mets called up outfielder Matt den Dekker and catcher Anthony Recker from Triple-A Las Vegas, leading to heavy speculation that a deal involving Buck and Byrd would happen sometime this week.
Hererra, 19, hit .265 with 11 homers and 11 stolen bases for the Pirates Low Class-A affiliate in 109 games this season, and was ranked as the 20th best prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system by Baseball America, according to CBS Sports.
Byrd and Buck will be thrown right into the thick of things as the Pirates are protecting the top wildcard spot while trying to gain ground on the Cardinals. Also, the Pirates still have six head-to-head games against the Cardinals this season with a three game set being played at PNC Park this weekend.
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