By now you’ve probably heard that the Mets have traded John Buck, Marlon Byrd and cash to the Pirates for Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later. My initial reaction is both surprised that the Mets made a move and pleased that they were able to cash in on an expiring asset(s). Additionally, this feels like a win-win trade.
It’s pretty obvious what the Pirates get – a potent bat to play RF that they’ve been looking to get since at least the July 31st trade deadline, one that became even more necessary once Starling Marte hit the disabled list. Buck fits in as more of a backup in Pittsburgh. The near universal reaction among Mets fans is to thank these two veterans to their contributions to the 2013 squad and wish them well in their new homes. Pirates fans should be happy with both of them.
But what exactly is a Dilson Herrera?
A converted third baseman, Herrera is listed at 5’10, 150 pounds. Yet he has good sock for his size, with 11 HR in his first year of full-season ball. Additionally, Baseball America listed him recently as the best defensive second baseman in the South Atlantic League.
However, Herrera was not on BA’s preseason top 10 list among Pirates prospects and he didn’t even make the cut during an “Ask BA” piece shortly after the draft in which they updated the Pirates’ top prospect list. However, this says at least as much about the depth of talent in the Pirates’ system as it does about BA’s evaluations and Dilson’s value.
For another take on Herrera, John Sickels ranked him as the Pirates’ ninth-best prospect coming into the season. This is a pretty strong ranking for a guy who played 2012 in the rookie level Gulf Coast League. Does anyone think Dominic Smith will be ranked the 9th-best Mets prospect prior to the 2014 season? Perhaps I shouldn’t make that type of statement, seeing that BA ranked Gavin Cecchini as the team’s second-best prospect after his debut year in the APPY last year.
Be that as it may, here’s what Sickels said about Herrera prior to the 2013 season:
”He’s been a very impressive hitter so far, showing considerable power (especially for a player of his size) and the ability to hit for average. His plate discipline isn’t terrific, but it isn’t bad considering his age and experience level, and he shows pop to all fields. He runs well and should also be a stolen base threat as he moves up. Herrera’s glove at second base is rough, but he has the athleticism to stick at the position. I like him, and if he keeps the strike zone under some semblance of control, the Pirates might have a special player here.
Grade B-“
As a 19 year old in a full season league, Herrera has a .345 wOBA with a .328 BABIP. He’s also kept his walk rate consistent with what he did a year ago, although at 7.7% it’s still a bit below where you would truly like to see it. The only negative has been the K%, which is up to 23% with 110 whiffs so far this season.
At this point the K-rate is a minor red flag. There’s a lot to like about Herrera – youth, athleticism and results to name just three. Sandy Alderson has made it a priority to add skilled middle of the diamond performers into the mix and with Herrera he looks to have done just that.
Without even knowing the PTBNL this looks like a good deal for the Mets. While his drafts may have us scratching our heads a tiny bit, no one can doubt the talent that Alderson has brought into the organization with his trades. Hopefully Herrera can take his place down the road with Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard.
And may his nickname be “The Dilson.”
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The Dilson looks like a pretty good haul for Byrd + Buck
Brian,
How do you jive the “best defensive 2B in SAL” with Sickels’ “glove at 2B is rough”comment? Just curious.
The Best Defensive 2B came from BA’s annual “Best Tools” issue and is voted on by league managers and coaches. You can see the full list here:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/low-class-a-2013-best-tools/
Sickels goes to a bunch of games and does a lot of in-person scouting plus he has a network of scouts that he “trades” information with. My guess – and I stress guess – is that the info on The Dilson’s glove came from a scout. Sickels is in the middle of the country and I’d be surprised if he went to the GULF on a scouting trip.
The Dilson represented the Pirates in this season’s Futures Game, where he went 0-1. This looks like a good deal IMO.
Good bye and good luck Byrd and Buck. Ive appreciated your play and contributions to the Mets.
Timing is perfect. It takes some of the attention away from Harvey. Nothing like gambling to take the pain away.
That’s more pain than I wanted to experience this year…
A nice haul for two one month rentals. Herrera as the best fielding in 2B in SAL indicates to me that he is a complete player. He has plenty of time to fill out, is only 19 yoa, and is excelling at a position that the avg NL second baseman hits 14 HR’s and .713 OPS. Although he is at least 2-3 years away,and if he can maintains his skills he may end up as a better than average NL second baseman. Now if the player to be named later is Gregory Polanco ……:) (dream on).
Trading at the end of August was a good move by Sandy because he was able to put a .500 team on the field for the month (even as the injury bug bit), keep some fan interest, and still get a team’s 11th best prospect that has upside.
One thing I didn’t mention in the article is that the Pirates didn’t screw around and send The Dilson to the NYP this year after he spent last year in the GULF. He played one year in rookie ball and went to a full-season league. And he’s two-and-a-half months younger than Cecchini.
… thus adding to the Alderson aura; once again, waiting to get better-than-expected perceived value at the trade deadline, by sticking to his guns. Again.
I gotta give credit to the guy. He knows what players are worth and he won’t overpay or under-receive.
VERY good trade for the Mets here. For what it’s worth (and I prefer Sickels), Mayo has already slotted Herrera as the Mets #9 prospect, and that list still includes Flores and d’Arnaud. To me this, and Herrera’s ranking in the Pirates system, really says three things:
1) As we know, the Mets farm is pretty weak on position prospects (though to be fair 8 of 10 on Mayo’s list are position players)
2) The Pirates farm is crazy deep
3) Alderson did a really good job on this trade in getting great value from expendable assets.
I’m very please by this deal, and supposedly the PTBNL is a “good” player as well, so we’ll see.
I’m very curious about the PTBNL, actually, since Huntington made the comments about it being a “good” player. Could it be that the player is already on the Pirates 40-man and did not pass through waivers? Could it be a 2013 draft pick that cannot yet be traded? Hm…
Baseball HQ has him ranked number 11 in the Pittsburgh system. This was at the beginning of the Spring. He was listed as below average defensively too but had the athleticism to improve.