Evan Gattis was traded to the Astros earlier this week, and the trade haul was impressive.
Gattis has played two seasons in the majors, he’ll be 25 next year. In his first two years he’s a career .253 BA, .304 OBP and .493 SLG with two seasons hitting over 20 homers. As a catcher these are good numbers (although he’s projected more as a DH type). So his upside compared to someone like Tulo is his age, contract, and injury history. His downside compared to Tulo is the track record that Tulo has. (Please don’t take this as me seriously comparing Gattis to Tulo, I’m trying to establish that Gattis has value but not nearly the value of Tulo, which should be obvious, right? I think?).
In the trade the Braves received Michael Foltynewicz, Andrew Thurman and Rio Ruiz. (Also the Astros got minor league arm James Hoyt).
Before the trade Foltynewicz was the 3rd best prospect on the Astros, Ruiz was the 8th according to Baseball America. Before the 2014 season Foltynewicz was 4th, Ruiz was 10th and Thurman was 17th.
According to MLB.com Foltynewicz is now the Braves second best prospect, Ruiz their 6th, and Thurman isn’t in the top 20.
To put these prospects in Mets terms, Foltynewicz has a higher ceiling than Montero, but Syndergaard has slightly more prestige. Ruiz is compares to any of other top hitting prospects that hit for moderate power and will debut in two seasons.
These two together, without Thurman, are an impressive haul for the Braves for a player like Gattis who in a few years may not have an obvious role (can he still play catcher or outfield in terms of defense?). Also the Astros are not flush with pitchers right now, making this even a little more riskier for them.
To get a bat via trade with moderate pitching experience, it takes a large package of prospects. If the Mets want to do this, they are goign to have to give up players that many fans don’t want them do. When teams always ask for Syndergaard, they are saying that their player is going to cost your best prospect. It doesn’t matter in the trading world if your best prospect is better than other teams best prospects.
