Mets Send Matz To Toronto

Citi Field. Photo by Jason Schott.

Five years ago, when the Mets made their magical run to the World Series, it was thought that the four young anchors of that rotation - Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz - would lead the team into a glorious new era.

That did not come to fruition, and Wednesday night, only two of the four aces remain with the team after they traded Matz was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays for three right-handed pitchers, Sean Reid-Foley, Josh Winckowski, and Yennsy Diaz.

The two remaining starters have taken wildly divergent paths since 2015, as deGrom has won two Cy Young awards (2018 and '19), and Syndergaard, who has been riddled with injuries, but still shown enough for the Mets to rely on him going forward. (Harvey was traded to Cincinnati in 2018)

The 29-year old Matz went 31-41 with a 4.35 ERA in his six seasons with the Mets (2015-20). In his rookie year, he burst on the scene and went 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA. He then experienced a sophomore slump in 2016 when he went 9-8, but had a pretty good 3.40 ERA. The following two seasons were brutal (2-7, 6.21 ERA in 2017 & 5-11, 3.97 ERA in 2018) before rebounding to go 11-10 in 2019 with a 4.11 ERA.

Last season, which was shortened to 60 games, was particularly tough on Matz, who never go in a rhythm, and went 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA, appearing in 9 games (6 starts), 30.2 innings, 42 hits, 33 runs (all earned), 14 home runs, 10 walks, and 36 strikeouts.

Biographies of the three players the Mets acquired from Toronto (provided by the New York Mets):

Sean Reid-Foley, 25, was 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (one earned run/6.2 innings) in five games in relief for the Blue Jays in 2020. The 6-3, 230-pounder was Toronto’s second-round selection in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft from Sandalwood High School (FL). In parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays, Reid-Foley is 5-8 with a 4.40 ERA (35 earned runs/71.2 innings) with 76 strikeouts in 21 games, 13 starts.

Josh Winckowski, 22, combined to go 10-8 with a 2.69 ERA (38 earned runs/127.1 innings) with Dunedin (A) of the Florida State League and Lansing (A) of the Midwest League in 2019. The 6-4, 202-pounder was the Blue Jays’ 27^th-best prospect in 2020 according to MLB.com.

Winckowski is 18-17 with a 3.35 ERA (98 earned runs/263.0 innings) with 237 strikeouts in 54 games, 50 starts across four minor league seasons. He was Toronto’s 15^th-round pick in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Estero High School (FL).

Yennsy Díaz, 24, made his major league debut in 2019, appearing in one game with Toronto. The 6-1, 210-pounder was 11-9 with a 3.74 ERA (60 earned runs/144.1 innings) and 116 strikeouts in 26 games, 24 starts for New Hampshire (AA) of the Eastern League in 2019. He was the Blue Jays’ 26^th-best prospect in 2020 according to MLB.com.

Díaz is 34-26 with a 3.84 ERA (205 earned runs/481.0 innings) with 429 strikeouts in 96 games, 84 starts over five minor league seasons. He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Blue Jays in 2014.