NEW YORK (AP) — Staying on the hunt for pitching, the New York Mets acquired starter Paul Blackburn from the last-place Oakland Athletics on Tuesday for minor league right-hander Kade Morris.
New York also added reliever Huascar Brazobán in a deal with the struggling Miami Marlins for minor league infielder Wilfredo Lara just before baseball’s 6 p.m. EDT trade deadline.
Blackburn was an All-Star in 2022 but has had trouble staying healthy at times. He missed more than two months this season with a stress reaction in his right foot before coming off the 60-day injured list last Friday and earning a win over the Los Angeles Angels by allowing four runs over five innings.
The 30-year-old right-hander is 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA in nine starts this year and figures to slot into a rotation missing injured ace Kodai Senga and rookie Christian Scott. Blackburn remains under team control next season and can become a free agent following the 2025 World Series.
Brazobán was 1-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 20 appearances for the Marlins this season, striking out 34 and walking 11 in 30 2/3 innings. The 34-year-old right-hander is 7-5 with a 3.56 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 121 1/3 innings over 97 major league games in three seasons with Miami.
In the past few weeks, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns found help for a shaky and injury-ravaged bullpen by acquiring veteran relievers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek in trades. New York also landed outfielder Jesse Winker in a deal with Washington.
Following a poor start, the Mets have surged back into the playoff chase behind the major leagues’ highest-scoring lineup over the last two months. New York began the day holding one of three National League wild cards in a crowded race.
Morris, 22, was 4-6 with a 3.51 ERA in 16 starts and two relief appearances with Class A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn this year. He was a third-round draft pick by the Mets in 2023 out of the University of Nevada and was rated the team’s 25th-best prospect by MLB.com.
New York also obtained reliever Tyler Zuber from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league right-hander Paul Gervase.
To make room on the 40-man roster for the new additions, two players at Triple-A were designated for assignment: right-hander Ty Adcock and catcher Logan Porter.
Zuber, 29, pitched in two games for Tampa Bay this season, allowing one run and striking out four in 3 1/3 innings. He was 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 21 2/3 innings in 18 games at Triple-A Durham.
Zuber also appeared in 54 big league games with Kansas City from 2020-21 and is 1-5 with a 5.13 ERA in the majors.
Earlier in the day, New York traded Triple-A lefty Josh Walker to Pittsburgh for minor league left-hander Nicolas Carreno. Walker made 24 appearances for the Mets over the past two seasons.
Lara, 20, has hit .247 with 21 home runs in 250 minor league games across three levels in the Mets organization over four seasons.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
