On 40-man roster deadline day, the Rays and Mets swapped players. The Mets acquired outfielder Jose Siri via trade with the Rays, while New York sent right-handed reliever Eric Orze to Tampa.
The Mets’ Return
- OF Jose Siri (.187/.255/.366, 18 HR in 130 GP)
Outfielder Jose Siri is a mixed bag, from an analytics point of view.
Siri, a 29-year-old bat, hit 25 home runs and swiped 12 bases for the Rays in 2023 over a career-high 364 plate appearances. The right-handed hitter routinely puts up gaudy Barrel% figures, including a career-high 14.7% in 2024. However, his swing-and-miss problems have been quite an issue throughout his career.
The ex-Ray struck out 37.9% of the time in 2024, which rated him the first percentile — which, isn’t exactly where one wants to be.
Siri generates above-average bat speed, and has a ton of loft in his swing. But at the same token, he’ll overswing and chase repeatadly. His 35.2% Chase% in 2024 in the bottom 15% of the league.
But when Siri gets a hold of one, it usually goes far, hence the high Barrel% rate.
Defensively, Siri is a plus runner who can make up ground with ease in center field. Plus, he ranked among the league’s best in arm strength (97th percentile).
The acquisition of Siri is an interesting one from a storylines perspective. For those who might recall, Siri, with the Astros in 2022, got in hot water with both ex-Met Eduardo Escobar and former manager Dusty Baker for a home run celebration against New York (NL) two years ago, which drew the ire of Baker.
He was traded to the Rays a few weeks later in a three-team deal that netted Houston Trey Mancini.
Siri is arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career in the 2024-25 offseason. The Mets will have him under team control for the next three years.
The Rays’ Return
- RP Eric Orze (2.92 ERA, 84 K over 61.2 IP) (AAA)
Relief pitcher Eric Orze was lauded when drafted in 2020 as a high-makeup player. Orze successfully fought testicular cancer and turned himself into a noteworthy prospect at the University of New Orleans, which pushed him into the fifth round of the shortened 2020 MLB Draft.
Orze looked to be on the fast track to the Majors in 2021. The righty sped through High and Double-A to finish the year in Syracuse (AAA). However, he spent time on the IL in 2022 2023, and struggled command in 2023 with a 6.0 BB/9. His numbers were very good in Syracuse in 2024, and pitched in two games with the Mets this past season.
The 27-year-old Orze doesn’t have an overpowering arsenal, as his fastball primarily sits in the 92-95 MPH range. It’s not a pitch he used a lot, as Orze threw it just 19.1% of the time last season among tracked pitches. However, it does have high IVB (17.9”), which is likely why the Rays coveted the arm.
Orze works the lower half of the zone liberally, with a changeup that differs about 10 MPH from the fastball, along with a slider he’ll use against both lefties and righties.
Orze was on the Mets’ 40-man roster before the move.
Analysis
The trade of Siri to the Mets is very interesting, for several reasons.
One, Siri is arbitration-eligible, as mentioned previously, and due for a pay raise. The Rays are in a sticky situation financially, as the team will play at Steinbrenner Field in 2025 and their future — for right now — in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area is very much an unknown. So at the forefront, this move will save the Rays some payroll for 2025.
The Rays do get an intriguing reliever in Orze, one who has a repeatable delivery and despite some walks troubles in the past, has stuff to miss bats. He’s also an arm who can give teams a different look, as Orze doesn’t have the hard fastball like a Pete Fairbanks or Hunter Bigge, nor is he fastball-reliant like Edwin Uceta.
As for the Mets, it’s the second notable trade New York (NL) has made with the Rays in recent months. The Mets acquired reliever Phil Maton — who was not retained for 2025 after the Mets declined his team option — from Tampa last summer and now Jose Siri in November.
Last season, the Mets leaned on Harrison Bader to give the team defensive prowess in center. Bader is a plus athlete with great instincts and can cover center with ease. However, the pickup of Siri is one where the Mets pick up a replacement for Bader; one who A) would cost less to bring in than Bader, who was paid $10.5MM last season and B) can contribute with more power.
Bader hit 12 home runs last season for the Mets. But, Bader doesn’t have the natural power Siri does. Rather, Bader is a contact hitter with a level swing and has a knack for getting to fastballs up in the zone.
The Mets have Tyrone Taylor, Starling Marte, and Brandon Nimmo on their roster now. Taylor was rotated around the outfield last season, while the Mets have Nimmo and Marte play primarily in the corners.