How the Mets Flipped Their Farm System

For the past few years, of all the issues the Mets have, the one that kept coming up was the lack of depth in their farm system. This issue started during the Brodie Van Wagenen era when he gutted the farm system. This did seemingly irreversible damage to the future of the Mets. Van Wagenen’s tenure was so bad for the farm, that even though he was fired three years ago, people still bring him up when discussing the state of the Mets’ farm.

However, this narrative seems to be a dying narrative. This is because of what the Mets did at this year’s trade deadline. What they did will not only help their future. But it will also revolutionize the way teams build minor league systems.

The Mets Bright Future

Even though this season has been extremely disappointing for the Mets. At least fans can look towards the future and hope better days are ahead. In the latest top 100 prospect ranking by MLB pipeline, the Mets currently have five players on the list. The only teams that have more are the Orioles and Pirates who both have six.

However, the minor system didn’t look this great just a few weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago the Mets seemed to have an average system. Sure they had some interesting prospects, but nothing game-changing. Their prospects were a long way from the majors or did project to be star players. Nobody in the Mets could look to make an impact next season. However now it’s one of the best in baseball. All of this can be attributed to what the Mets did at the trade deadline.

The Active Deadline

The Mets ended up trading six players from their MLB roster at this year’s trade deadline. None however were as big as the Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander trades. These two netted a haul, getting top prospects Luisangel Acuña, and Drew Gilbert. Both of them are the Mets’ one and two top prospects and are featured on the MLB pipeline’s top 100 list. They were also able to acquire Ryan Clifford in the Verlander trade. Despite the fact he wasn’t included on the top 100 prospect list, he is still a very intriguing prospect with a lot of upside.

Acuña and Gilbert have the potential to be cornerstone pieces of New York. These are the types of players the Mets were lacking in their system. The kind of players that can come up to the majors and make a quick and immediate impact. The future stars of New York. Something to give Mets fans hope even after such a horrible season.

But it’s not just Acuña and Gilbert the Mets got. They got a haul of young prospects. Players like Marco Vargas, Justin Jarvis, and Jeremy Rodriguez just to name a few. Sure these players aren’t on the same level as Acuña and Gilbert are. They aren’t ranked on any top 100 prospect list, and they are a long way off the way from the MLB. However what players like this do is give the Mets organizational depth. It balances out the system. It is what makes the system one of the best in baseball. They have decent prospects throughout their farm system, and not just on one level.

How It Will Change Baseball

Now this quick turnaround of the farm system is unprecedented in baseball. We have never seen a team do what the Mets did at the deadline. Which is essentially buying prospects. When Steve Cohen bought the Mets back in 2021, it was assumed that he would use his financial might to drastically improve this team. Well, this deadline is the prime example of it. The Mets ended up eating large chunks of the players they were trading contracts, in order to get better prospects. That’s how they were able to get two potential franchise-changing prospects, for two 40-year-old pitchers.

Now of course it all depends on how these players pan out. But let’s say these prospects pan out and are the players we think they are. With the MLB being a copycat league, more teams might try to take this approach. Teams might be more willing to eat big chunks of rental players, or players they are trying to move in order to get a better return. Thus changing the way teams approach the trade deadline. What Steve Cohen and the Mets just did might have changed baseball forever.

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