The floundering New York Mets traded away their veteran ace duo of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer this week, sending fireworks through the MLB after a series of less-than star-studded deals leading up to the trade deadline, sending the league’s two highest-paid players whose combined annual salary exceeds $86 million out of New York—here are some of this season’s other trades.
The New York Mets traded ace Justin Verlander back to the Houston Astros in one of two blockbuster ... [+]
Verlander: The sub-.500 Mets, down 17.5 games to the red-hot Atlanta Braves in the National League East, traded the 40-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner to his former club, the Houston Astros, after signing Verlander in December to a two-year, $86.66 million contract, giving him $43.33 million per year.
Scherzer: The Mets traded 39-year-old Scherzer, the other half of their veteran ace package, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Rangers’ prospect Luisangel Acuña, with the Rangers paying $22.5 million of Scherzer’s $43.33 million annual salary.
Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly: The Chicago White Sox traded away Lynn, a right-handed starter making $19 million this year, as well as Kelly, a reliever making $8.5 million, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Trayce Thompson (who makes $1.45 million) and pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure.
Mark Canha: The Mets also traded left fielder Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Justin Jarvis, with the Mets covering his remaining 2023 salary—Canha is making $13.25 million this season.
Lucas Giolito: The White Sox traded Giolito—making $10.4 million this year—and pitcher Reynaldo Lopez ($4.625 million) to the Los Angeles Angels for minor leaguers Ky Bush and Edgar Quero.
Kiké Hernández: The Boston Red Sox traded the utility player, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2023 season, to the Dodgers for pitcher Nick Robertson ($720,000 annual contract) and minor league pitcher Justin Hagenman.
A.J. Pollock: The Seattle Mariners sent the 35-year-old outfielder, who is making $7 million this season, as well as second baseman Mark Mathias ($750,000) to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Carlos Santana: The Pittsburgh Pirates traded veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, 37, to the Brewers in return for minor league shortstop Jhonny Severino, less than a year after the Pirates signed Santana on a one-year, $6.725 million contract.
Jeimer Candelario: The Nationals traded their third baseman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitching prospect DJ Herz and infield prospect Kevin Made—Candelario is making $5 million this year.
After months of speculation over a blockbuster trade involving 2023 MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani, the Angels decided last week to keep the two-way star off the table. Ohtani, a one-time MVP who leads the majors in home runs (39) and maintains an impressive 3.43 earned run average as a pitcher, is making $30 million on a one-year contract this season, and could see a massive pay increase over the offseason worth hundreds of millions of dollars over more than 10 years, according to at least one agent who spoke to the Los Angeles Times.
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