New York Mets DFA Former Trade Deadline Addition
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The New York Mets are struggling, losing three straight while holding a 1-9 record in their last ten, while also going just 19-34 in their past 53. This stretch has seen them fall six back of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East race, and now they hold just a half-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final wild-card spot.
Something has to change, and so the Mets are calling up their No. 3 prospect, and the No. 37 prospect in baseball, Nolan McLean. In order to clear roster spot for him, the Mets designated former A's right-hander Paul Blackburn for assignment following Friday's game, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Blackburn was acquired by the Mets at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline in exchange for right-hander Kade Morris, who is currently with the Las Vegas Aviators, the A's Triple-A affiliate.
Blackburn began the 2025 campaign on the IL with right knee inflammation, and he didn't make his season debut until the beginning of June against the Los Angeles Dodgers, going five scoreless innings. He ended up going 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in six June outings before landing back on the IL with a right shoulder impingement at the beginning of July.
He made his return to the Mets roster on Wednesday, tossing five innings in relief against the Atlanta Braves, giving up a hit and a walk which led to two runs. He struck out three in that outing, while saving the bullpen.
The 31-year-old righty has never been the flashiest arm, but he's been a solid piece of the roster when healthy for years now. This season, in a pretty limited sample, he's added a little velocity, with his sinker adding nearly a full tick up to 92 miles per hour while pitching occasional games in relief.
The one big change that he seemed to have made in New York was to limit his four-seam usage, which sat at 5.9% this season after tossing it 19.5% of the time in 2024. With the A's in 2024, he was using six pitches, and mixed their usage anywhere from 10.1%-22% of the time. Perhaps that switch with the heater led to a little less guessing on the hitter's part.
As for McLean, he's scheduled to start Saturday's matchup for the Mets, as they take on the Seattle Mariners at home. The 24-year-old righty out of Oklahoma State has racked up 87 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season, holding a 2.78 ERA while striking out 97 and walking 38. He also dominated Double-A earlier this season, putting up a 1.37 ERA in 26 1/3 frames.
While pithing in New York comes with a bit of pressure in and of itself, making your big-league debut with the club looking to turn things completely around is another set of expectations entirely.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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