Oakland Athletics Trade Tyler Clippard to New York Mets For Casey Meisner
After much speculation over the last few days, Oakland Athletics’ closer Tyler Clippard has been traded to the New York Mets, in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Casey Meisner. The A’s also agreed to pay the Mets $1 million in cash considerations.
Meisner, who is just 20 years old, was drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft. The right-hander is in his first full season of professional baseball, after two seasons of short-season ball. He has split this season between Low- and High-A, compiling a 2.35 ERA and a 10-4 record.
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In addition to a successful 2015 campaign, Meisner made 13 starts for short-season Brooklyn last season, where he finished the year with a 3.75 ERA in 13 starts. He struck out 67 while walking 18. He’s struggled a little more with his command this season, walking 33 batters compared to 89 strikeouts.
At 6’7″ with a powerful arm, Meisner certainly has potential, but he’s also very far away from the big leagues. The Mets had him ranked as their 15th highest prospect, which seems a little high to give away for the handful of appearances they’ll be able to get from Clippard in the next couple of months. The A’s, on the other hand, appear to be setting themselves up for a long-term rebuild, as they aren’t trading for players who will be able to impact the team next season.
Meisner’s fastball improved from the upper 80s as a high school draft pick to the mid-90s in his first season of minor league ball. Although many view Meisner as more of a back-end starter, others think he has a much higher upside:
Meisner’s biggest asset is his size, which he uses to add downward movement to his fastball. He also throws a decent curveball, but he needs to add more pitches to his repertoire before he will be useful at the major league level.
FanGraphs compiled a set of gifs to show what Meisner is capable of, which can be found here:
Overall, it seems like a great trade for the A’s. Clippard boasted a 2.79 ERA this season, with 17 saves and a 1-3 record in 37 appearances. He was brought in to be the Oakland Athletics’ setup man, but Sean Doolittle‘s extended stay on the disabled list forced him into the closer role.
Trading Clippard was the smartest decision for the A’s. They aren’t competitive, and they have little to no shot at a playoff spot. It’s much better to prepare for the future than pretend that things will get better this year.