Prior to the trade deadline, the Yankees and Mets had some talks about a swap that would’ve generated a ton of headlines in both the Big Apple and around baseball. According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the two New York teams explored a one-for-one deal that would’ve sent Trent Grisham to Queens in exchange for Brett Baty.
Aaron Judge’s health situation was a major component in these trade discussions, and the Yankees’ entire deadline direction. Judge hurt his elbow while making a throw from right field on July 22, and the discomfort continued when the star outfielder was clearly having some issues throwing in the Bronx Bombers’ 12-5 loss to the Phillies on July 25. A trip to the 10-day injured list followed, and Judge was limited to DH duty for over a month after returning from that fairly minimal IL stint.
Importantly, however, Judge’s elbow issue was minor a flexor strain that came without any UCL damage. The initial fear was that Judge’s UCL was damaged to the point that a season-ending Tommy John surgery would’ve been required, and obviously losing their superstar would’ve completely altered the Yankees’ deadline plans. As Martino put it, the Yankees had “a thought about selling” in the few days when Judge’s health situation was uncertain, which would’ve translated as the Bombers shopping pending free agents. An NL scout told Martino in late July that the Yankees were at least open to offers for Grisham, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger (who is expected to opt out of the final season of his contract to test the market).
It shouldn’t be overlooked that the Yankees had a losing record (25-27) over June and July, so even with Judge firing on all cylinders, the club was in the midst of an extended slump as the deadline approached. Losing their first five games in August added to the team’s woes, but the Yankees fully righted the ship by mid-August, going 28-11 over their last 39 games. With two days left in the regular season, New York can still both capture both the AL East and the top overall seed in the AL playoff bracket, if the team can finish with a better record than the Blue Jays (since Toronto holds the head-to-head tiebreaker).
Grisham has been a big part of that surge, continuing what has been a career year for the 28-year-old outfielder. Grisham is hitting .238/.349/.469 over 573 plate appearances, along with a total of 34 home runs that far exceeds his previous career high of 17. In a strange reversal of his career norm, Grisham has gone from being a defensive standout with an average-at-best bat to being a slugging center fielder whose glovework (-11 Defensive Runs Saved, -2 Outs Above Average) has been a minus.
Even if the Yankees had sold some rental players at the deadline, it wasn’t going to be a fire sale. The team was still looking to win and upgrade the 2025 roster, just in a way that perhaps focused more towards the future than making a direct all-in push towards a World Series this year. Landing a controllable former top prospect in Baty would have fit the bill, and the Bombers viewed him as an answer at third base, even though he has gotten a lot of time as the Mets’ second baseman this year.
Now in his fourth MLB season, Baty’s 110 wRC+ represents a career best, and he has hit .254/.313/.435 with 18 home runs over 432 PA. Baty has come about these numbers in inconsistent fashion, and the Mets even demoted him to Triple-A early in the season after an ice-cold start. While these may not yet be the numbers Queens fans expected given Baty’s lofty prospect status, becoming a solid big league regular is no small feat, and Baty’s latest hot streak has quietly made him one of the more productive hitters in baseball over the last six weeks.
The Mets were reportedly open to trading from their young infield depth at the deadline, with Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuna all available for the right offer. As it turned out, the Mets ended up primarily trading from their minor league pitching depth when making their pre-deadline moves, though infield prospect Jesus Baez was a prominent part of the trade package sent to the Cardinals for Ryan Helsley.
Rather than Grisham, the Mets addressed their outfield by acquiring Cedric Mullins from the Orioles in a trade that simply hasn’t worked out. Mullins (who is also a free agent this winter) has hit only .183/.286/.283 over 142 PA in a Mets uniform, playing as the regular center fielder against right-handed pitching. As for the Yankees, they held onto their impending free agents, and brought in a collection of veterans at the deadline to bolster the roster. For third base in particular, Ryan McMahon was brought over from the Rockies and has at least stabilized the position from a defensive standpoint, even if McMahon isn’t hitting.
Naturally every deadline season goes by with countless eye-opening trades that didn’t come to fruition, so there’s no shortage of 20-20 hindsight that can be applied to any of these proposed deals. In this particular Grisham-for-Baty swap, there’s some additional interest just due to the fact that the Yankees and Mets rarely trade with each other, not to mention the sliding-doors nature of what this trade might have done to each team’s season.
While the Yankees have been rolling in September, the Mets’ struggles have now reached critical mass, as the Amazins sit outside the NL postseason picture with two games remaining. The Reds have a magic number of 2 for clinching the final NL wild card slot, since Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker over New York should the two teams finish with the same record.
With just a 20-31 record since August 1, the Mets’ deadline approach has already come under fire, even if Mullins’ struggles are far from the only reason the club has slumped. It can be argued that in the world where Baty was dealt for Grisham, the Mets might still be in this same position, given Baty’s recent contributions and the fact that pitching has been the larger issue in Queens. Hanging onto Baty may prove fruitful in the long run, but it won’t do much to ease the immediate dismay of Mets fans (or the organization itself) since their record payroll may not even result in a postseason trip.
