New York Mets acquire Tyler Clippard from Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics have announced that they’ve sent reliever Tyler Clippard to the New York Mets in exchange for minor-league right-hander Casey Meisner. Oakland will also send $1-million in cash in the deal.

It’s been reported at length over the last 24 hours that a deal involving Clippard was imminent, with the Mets becoming the primary suitors early on Monday. Clippard will join Jeurys Familia and Bobby Parnell at the back of the New York bullpen as the Mets make a push to catch the Washington Nationals in the National League East.

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The trade serves as a return to the National League East for Clippard, who spent the last seven seasons pitching for Washington. The 30-year-old pitched well enough to earn trips to two All-Star games, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in four of those campaigns.

The trade also represents the first trade domino to fall in the reliever market, which could make the markets for Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, Joaquin Benoit and others much clearer. With the same set of teams vying for the majority of the top arms on the market, discussions for the aforementioned players could heat up in the coming days as contenders look to ensure they get an arm before all the top options are off the board.

The A’s get a decent talent in Meisner, who was the Mets’ third-round pick in 2013. MLB.com had him ranked as New York’s 15th-best prospect, and he had a 3-2 record with a 2.83 ERA in six starts at High-A this year.

But with Meisner being all the Mets give up, the trade also leaves the door open for New York to potentially make more moves. They reportedly discussed Ben Zobrist with the A’s prior to engaging in talks for Clippard, and were willing to move pitcher Rafael Montero in a potential deal. Whether the Mets are still interested in Zobrist or have moved on, they’re clearly in the market for an infielder and also have an apparent movable chip in Montero.

Next: New York Mets Emerging As Favorites For Tyler Clippard

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