The New York Mets are nearing an agreement to acquire former All-Star right-handed starter Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In exchange, the Athletics will receive righty Kade Morris, per The Athletic’s Will Sammon.
Blackburn, 30, only recently returned to a big-league mound after missing more than two months because of a right foot stress reaction. He started on July 26 against the Los Angeles Angels, surrendering four runs on five hits and a walk over five innings of work. On the season, he’s sporting a 91 ERA+ and a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio in nine starts.
Blackburn, who made the 2022 All-Star Game, has consistently been a league-average starter when he’s been healthy in recent years. Indeed, since the start of 2022, he’s compiled a 91 ERA+ and a 2.66 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 266 innings pitched.
It should be noted that Blackburn is under team control for an additional season. That makes him more than a rental acquisition, and it’s fair to slot him into the 2025 rotation based on current information.
The Mets have received several pieces of bad news concerning their rotation in recent weeks. First, promising rookie Christian Scott was placed on the injured list because of a sprained elbow. Then, more recently, Kodai Senga departed his long-awaited season debut with a calf injury. The Mets have since conceded that Senga is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season as a result of the injury.
The Mets come into Tuesday with a 56-50 record on the year, putting them nine games back in the National League East. They’re also locked in a tie with the San Diego Padres for the second wild-card spot, and are holding onto a half-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Morris, 22, was a third-round pick in 2023. He’s compiled a 3.51 ERA and a 3.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18 appearances across two levels. Baseball America recently ranked Morris as the 26th best prospect in New York’s farm system.
