Mets & Yankees Swap A Pair of Relievers

 

Citi Field on Thursday morning. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets and Yankees made a rare trade on Sunday morning, just four days before Opening Day, as the Mets acquired left-hander Joely Rodriguez, and the Yankees acquired tall right-hander Miguel Castro.

Joely Rogriguez did not have the longest stint with the Yankees, as he was brought over from Texas in the Joey Gallo trade on July, 29, 2021, but he had an impact as they made a run to snatch a Wild Card berth.

In 21 games with the Yankees, Rodriguez, 30, went 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA (six earned runs in 19.0 innings), and overall for the 2021 season, he was 2-3 with a 4.66 ERA (24 ER in 46.1 IP) and 47 strikeouts in 52 games. Though his numbers with the Yankees were better, he has a 10-inning scoreless streak from April 19-May 13, 2021.

Rodriguez, who stands at 6-1 and 220-pounds, held left-handed batters to a .203/.288/.271 (12-59) slash line in 2021. Overall, in his career, he is 3-5 with a 4.61 ERA (49 earned runs in 95.2 innings) during parts of four Major League seasons with the Phillies, Rangers, and Yankees.

The left-hander got his career back on track in Japan, when he pitched for the Chunichi Dragons in 2018 and 2019, where he had a 1.87 ERA (18 ER in 87.2 IP) and 108 strikeouts in 90 relief appearances, with a record of 3-7.

Miguel Castro, 27, had a 3.45 ERA (27 ER in 70.1 IP) with a 3-4 record in 69 games for the Mets last season. He had 77 strikeouts, while allowing 48 hits, 43 walks, and 7 home runs. 

Castro had career highs in appearances, with 69, as well as his 0.9 home run/9.0 innings pitched and 6.14 hits/9.0 IP. He led all Mets relievers in appearances and innings pitched, and held batter  s to a .189 (48-for-254) opponents' batting average.

The Mets acquired Castro from the Baltimore Orioles on August 31,2020 for a player to be named later (who turned into infielder Victor Gonzalez) and left-handed pitcher Kevin Smith.

Castro has had a seven-year Major League career, in which he has compiled a 4.13 ERA (353.1 innings pitched, 306 hits, 177 runs, including 162 earned; 190 walks, 311 strikeouts, and 45 home runs) in 299 appearances (with four starts) and a record of 11-22. He has pitched with the Toronto Blue Jays (2015) Colorado Rockies (2015-16), Baltimore Orioles (2017-20), and the Mets (2020-21). 

This is the first trade between the New York baseball teams since April 10, 2018 when they traded a pair of minor leaguers, with the Mets acquiring outfielder Kendall Coleman for infielder LJ Mazzilli. This trade Rodriguez-Castro trade marks just the 18th trade the Mets and Yankees have made, remarkable considering the Mets are entering their 61st season.