Waiting for the Jesse Winker trade results to look like a W

You can’t fault a good baseball executive for trying. When the New York Mets acquired Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals, it looked like a solid depth move and especially so in the absence of Starling Marte. It did have its issues. The Mets righty outfield duo of Harrison Bader and Tyrone Taylor have spent most of the year hitting well against right-handed pitchers. A right-handed hitter who mashes lefties might’ve made a lot more sense.

Neither here nor there at this stage because what was done is done and maybe one more clichéd phrase before the comma, some early retrospective on the trade should have us wondering how necessary it was.

Winker has done well at times in those limited 29 Mets plate appearances. However, with only one insurance RBI in a win against the Colorado Rockies and his first extra-base hit coming in the form of a double in an already lost 12-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners, we’re still waiting on this to become a truly impactful addition.

Tyler Stuart has taken off since the Mets traded him to the Nationals

We’re all well aware of what Winker is doing on a part-time basis. What about the prospect they gave up for him, Tyler Stuart? The ex-Mets farmhand who is built like a silo exited our pipeline with a 3-7 record and 3.96 ERA. Since joining the Nationals organization, he has made 3 starts and come away without a decision but more importantly only 3 earned runs through 16.2 innings.

Stuart has continued to throw strikes, nearly matching the 2.1 walks per 9 he had with the Mets and increasing it only 2.2 per 9. The strikeouts have taken off. He went from 9.6 per 9 way up to 14.6 per 9 in the limited sample.

It was last season when Stuart landed on the radar of casual prospect watchers when he combined to post a 2.20 ERA in High-A and Double-A. Although the earned run average has gone up, he has lowered his walk rate slightly while increasing the average number of strikeouts per 9 innings.

Stuart’s biggest performance thus far post-trade deadline came when he struck out 13 Bowie BaySox on Saturday in his 5.2 innings. Fans of his were already disappointed to see him go. With Winker being more of a background player since his arrival and not even an everyday player against right-handed starting pitchers, this is the one deadline move to raise an early eyebrow over.

Will the Mets come to regret trading Stuart to a division rival? That’s the risk with any deal.