The Mets and Brewers swung a pre-Christmas trade on December 20, one that saw New York acquire starter Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers. It’s a deal that addresses several holes for the Mets, while Milwaukee received an intriguing pitching prospect in return.
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The Mets’ Return
- SP Adrian Houser (4.12 ERA, 96 K over 111.1 IP)
- OF Tyrone Taylor (.234/.267/.446, 10 HR and 28 XBH over 81 G (243 PA))
New York (NL) president of baseball operations David Stearns is very familiar with new Mets pitcher Adrian Houser, as the 30-year-old spent time in both the Astros and Brewers’ organizations when Stearns worked for both teams.
Houser was at one point a highly-touted prospect in the Astros system but has since carved out a nice regular role after being traded to Milwaukee along with Josh Hader and Brett Phillips for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers.
The 30-year-old’s posted respectable numbers in each of the past three seasons, including this past year when he went 8-5 with a 4.12 ERA (3.99 FIP) and 96 K over 111.1 IP.
Houser’s never been an elite strikeout pitcher, nor one with plus command. But, his ability to get jam shots with his sinker — which sits in the low-90s but moves a lot and plays up thanks to extension — and ground balls in the past has given him value.
Just two years ago, Houser finished third in the Majors with the most instances of flared or weak contact (234) off the sinker, behind only Sean Manaea and Kyle Hendricks.
Additionally, Houser works in a four-seamer, slider, curveball, and changeup.
The other piece involved in this deal is veteran outfielder Tyrone Taylor.
A 29-year-old right-handed hitter, Taylor possesses good speed and an approach at the plate, above-average power, and proved to be adept at catching up to the heat and belt breaking balls over the center of the plate.
At the same token, though, Taylor can be quite aggressive at the plate, as he chases regularly.
Health has been a problem for Taylor, as the former second-round pick’s career-high in games played is 120 and he’s spent time on the IL in each of the last three seasons. But when healthy, Taylor has had value as both a power bat and someone who can play all three outfield positions.
The Brewers’ Return
- SP Coleman Crow (1.88 ERA, 31 K over 24 IP (AA))
The Mets originally acquired right-handed starter Coleman Crow via trade last June, when New York sent Eduardo Escobar for both the 2019 28th-round pick and Landon Marceaux. However, Crow never threw a pitch in the Mets organization due to Tommy John surgery he underwent this past summer.
The 23-year-old righty doesn’t have overpowering stuff, as his fastball primarily sat in the low-90s per MLB.com. However, he gets whiffs and strikeouts with a pair of breaking balls. Crow’s high-70s curveball and high-80s slider both proved to be effective, and the 23-year-old also works in a change.
The new Brewers prospect will concede a fair amount of contact, which isn’t much of a shock given his usage of a two-seamer. Crow’s ceiling is of a #3/#4 starter at the MLB level.
Analysis
From the Brewers’ standpoint, this deal can be considered a money dump. Houser made $3.6MM last year and is set for a raise in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Taylor is also arbitration-eligible. But this is his first year of eligibility, and will likely not make much given his track record.
One other element at the play here is that while Taylor was a good depth piece for the Brewers, Milwaukee is well-supported in the outfield. Between Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer, Sal Frelick, and the recently extended prospect Jackson Chourio, there simply wasn’t much room for him.
As for the Mets, New York does have a veteran starter who’s proven to be a good innings-eater and has the stuff to get outs. Additionally, the Mets also get some much-needed depth for the outfield.
Taylor should comfortably slot into a similar role that Tommy Pham played last year for the Amazins’. The 29-year-old might not have as good of a bat as Pham, but Taylor does have pop and is better defensively.