New York Mets acquire Rich Hill from Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Mets have made their first big trade of the deadline, acquiring pitcher Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays. 

A big name starting pitcher is on the move, and he’ll be landing in the Big Apple.

The New York Mets pulled the trigger on a trade Friday morning, a ripple effect from a Tampa Bay Rays trade on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay traded for Minnesota Twins slugger Nelson Cruz, landing themselves one of the biggest bats on the trade market. In doing so, however, the Rays also inherited Cruz’s $13 million contract without sending much of it back to the Twins.

Needing to shed some payroll to fit Nelson Cruz on the books, the Rays made trading starting pitcher Rich Hill a priority as a means of shedding some salary from the books.

According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, the Rays have found a trade partner for Hill and will be sending him to the New York Mets. Details of the trade are still filtering in, but the Mets have seemingly landed a starting arm it needed to find at the deadline.

Adding Hill gives the Mets another solid starter, furthering the club’s deadline strategy to bolster its rotation. With Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard on the IL, New York was in the market to add starting pitching before the deadline passed at the end of July.

New York could still be active in the trade market in acquiring a starter. Hill fills a massive void in the rotation, but there have been rumblings that the Mets could entice the Twins to trade them Jose Berrios.

Even without Berrios, the Mets rotation in October is teeming with talent. If Syndergaard and deGrom can return healthy, New York will boast a postseason rotation of their two aces plus Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Marcus Stroman, and now Hill.