Chris Bassitt, who made a remarkable recovery from a frightening line drive to the head last year, was traded by the Oakland A's to the New York Mets on Saturday for a pair of minor league pitchers.
The Mets sent J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller to the A's.
Bassitt gives the Mets a starter for the middle of the rotation, which is a good fit behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
After taking a 100 mph liner to the face in Chicago, Bassitt came back to make two starts in late September. The drive came off Brian Goodwin's bat in the second frame of the game.
Bassitt had surgery on his cheekbone. His right eye was swollen shut after the injury.
Bassitt went 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 27 starts, including his first career complete game and All-Star selection. When he got hurt, he was an A Cy Young candidate and his absence took a toll. He led the American League in victories when he was injured.
The Oakland A's missed the playoffs for the third straight season after winning the American League West in the 2020 season. The small-budget A's have been known to trade away their key players during the off-season.
Mark Kotsay is a former outfielder for the club.
The New York Yankees made a huge splash by landing Max Scherzer in free agency, giving them an imposing duo with Jacob deGrom that has won five Cy Young Awards. But overlooked was the fact that Marcus Stroman, the club's best starter last season, signed with the Chicago Cubs and Noah Syndergaard, who came back from Tommy John surgery, left for the Los Angeles Angels.
With deGrom coming off an injury-abbreviated season, the Mets need to add depth on the mound. They have Carlos Carrasco, who had 12 mostly ineffective starts last year in his first season with the Mets, and Taijuan Walker, who followed up an All-Star first half with a miserable second half.
David Peterson and Tylor Megill were both rookies and showed promise.
The Mets selected Ginn in the second round. He was a combined 5-5 with a 3.33 ERA in two levels of Class A ball.
Oller was 9-4 with a 3.45 in Triple-A and Double-A last year.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
