The Oakland Athletics continued to lead the way as sellers heading into the deadline, shipping off another one of their core players from the 2015 season. Oakland traded closer Tyler Clippard to the New York Mets for right-handed pitching prospect Casey Meisner, as first reported by Jon Heyman.
No one saw a 51-48 record coming from the Mets as they headed into the last week of July. What many thought would be a dysfunctional, sub-.500 team has been impressive behind excellent pitching. But New York has run into some trouble, with closer Jeurys Familia blowing two of his last three save opportunities and Jenrry Mejia returning from a PED suspension. Clippard will step in as a set-up man for the Mets and it will be an excellent role for him, giving the Mets two excellent options in the eighth and ninth inning.
Clippard served as the A's closer with Sean Doolittle on the disabled list for most of the season. The 30-year-old Clippard has converted 17 of 21 save opportunities this season with a 1.19 WHIP, 38/21 K/BB in 38 2/3 innings pitched. This is the second time Clippard has been traded in 2015, after being traded from the Washington Nationals to the Athletics for Yunel Escobar.
For the Athletics, this is just another step in what really has been a lost season for the organization. But the Athletics made a smart decision here as a "rebuilding" team, trading away a closer they didn't need and who was an impending free agent and receiving a starting pitching prospect in return.
The 20-year-old Meisner was a third-round draft pick by the Mets in the 2013 Amateur Draft and has put up some impressive numbers this year between Low-A and High-A. In 12 starts at Low-A Savannah, he registered a 2.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 66/19 K/BB ratio. He was promoted to High-A St. Lucie and in his past six starts, has a 2.83 ERA, though his WHIP has jumped to 1.40 with a 23/14 K/BB ratio. He is still very young so there is plenty of time for him to potentially develop into a third or fourth starter.
Fantasy Impact
The biggest boost in value here likely comes for whoever replaces Clippard as the Athletics' closer with Edward Mujica the likely benefactor for now. Since being designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox and picked up by the Athletics, Mujica has a 3.68 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 16 appearances with a 12/2 K/BB ratio. It's significantly better than the 4.61 ERA and 1.32 WHIP that got him kicked out of Boston. Of course, the A's could go with a committee at closer involving Mujica and Eric O'Flaherty until Doolittle comes back healthy.
It's still a high probability that Familia will keep the closing role in New York, thanks to his 0.97 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings. So, Clippard will shift back to being a set-up man, a role he was very familiar with in Washington. Obviously his fantasy value will take a hit with the lack of save opportunities. Clippard's 63.2 fly ball percentage will not play nearly as nicely to Citi Field, which allows 1.266 home runs per game versus the O.co Coliseum's 0.852 mark, so that is something to watch out for as well.