MLB

MLB Offseason Round-Up: Mets Add Starter, Outfielder in Trade With Brewers

Published

4 months ago

December 21, 2023

This is one in a series of daily articles highlighting the latest news and notes from the MLB offseason.

If there’s anyone in the league outside of the organization who knows the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s current Mew York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Stearns, who previously led the Brewers’ front office after he was hired as general manager in 2015, was hired by the Mets at the end of the regular season.

Stearns struck an interesting trade with his former club on Wednesday in a three-player swap. The Mets acquired right-handed pitcher Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers in exchange for pitching prospect Coleman Crow.

For the Mets, they’re getting an addition to their starting rotation and a potential starter in their outfield.

Houser had spent his entire seven-year big league career in Milwaukee and posted an even-4.00 ERA in 129 career appearances, 97 of which were starts. Last season, the right-hander totaled 111.1 innings pitched across 23 appearances/21 starts and went 8-5 with a 4.12 ERA.

Taylor is coming off of a down year at the plate in 2023 but is coming off of a steady string of production from 2019-22. In parts of six seasons for his career, Taylor has hit .234 with a .742 OPS, 53 doubles, 41 home runs and 136 RBIs in 331 games.

The Brewers shredded around $7.5 million from their payroll based off of MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration projections. They also get a fairly intriguing pitching prospect who underwent Tommy John surgery last season.

One potential ripple of this deal is what the Brewers will do with staff ace Corbin Burnes. Burnes has long been speculated as a trade target this MLB offseason, and Milwaukee could still look to move him. If they did, though, they would be down three starters from their rotation last season along with Houser and Brandon Woodruff.