Mets to sell big again? A look back at the 2023 trade deadline, when they dealt Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer shown during Mets spring training in 2023. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Time is ticking until Monday’s 6 p.m. MLB trade deadline.
Plenty of eyes around the league are on the Mets, who are expected to be full-blown sellers for the first time since 2023.
On the morning of the Aug. 1, 2023 deadline, the Mets had a 50-55 record and were in fourth place in the NL East, 17 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta and six games back of the third wild-card spot.
Entering Wednesday, the Mets (45-62) were in last place in the NL East, 17 1/2 games behind Atlanta and 10 1/2 games back of the third wild-card spot.
In the week leading up to the 2023 deadline, then-Mets general manager Billy Eppler traded six players as owner Steve Cohen’s $377 million team was dismantled.
Here’s a look at those six trades, and how the returns have fared three years later.
JUSTIN VERLANDER
On deadline day, the Mets traded Verlander back to the Astros for prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford.
The then-40-year-old Verlander was 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 16 starts for the Mets. He had signed a two-year, $86.7 million contract in December 2022, matching then-teammate Max Scherzer (more on him shortly) for the highest-average salary in MLB history. The Mets reportedly covered more than half of what Verlander, who waived his no-trade clause, was owed.
“Just the vision of how the rest of this year was going and next season had shifted a bit,” Verlander said after the trade. “They’re more focused on a couple years, ’25-’26. It would be great to hear if I was a Met for longer term. But with only signing a guaranteed two years, it changes things. It’s a tough conversation, especially with Steve [Cohen].”
At the time of the deal, Gilbert was Houston’s top prospect and the No. 36 prospect in baseball, according to Baseball Prospectus.
Last July 30, Gilbert — who was the Mets’ No. 11 prospect in 2025, according to MLB Pipeline — Blade Tidwell and Jose Butto were traded to San Francisco for reliever Tyler Rogers. Gilbert, 25, made his MLB debut last Aug. 8. He is on San Francisco’s active roster and, as of Tuesday, has a .234/.317/.353 slash line this season.
Clifford, now the Mets’ No. 7 prospect, was viewed by many as the successor to Pete Alonso at first base. The 23-year-old has had a rocky season in Triple-A Syracuse, batting .191/.283/.378 with 16 homers, 50 RBIs and an International League-leading 141 strikeouts.
TOMMY PHAM
Pham, who had a .268/.348/.472 slash line for the Mets in 2023, was traded to Arizona on deadline day for then-17-year-old shortstop Jeremy Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who turned 20 on July 4, has a .213/.312/.240 slash line with no homers in 46 games for Single-A St. Lucie this season. He currently is not a top-30 prospect in the Mets’ system, according to MLB Pipeline, but was their No. 12 prospect in 2025 and 2024.
DOMINIC LEONE
The Mets sent Leone, a righthanded reliever who had a 4.40 ERA for the team, to the Angels for prospect Jeremiah Jackson on deadline day.
Jackson, then 23, reported to Double-A Binghamton and played 158 games there from 2023-24. After posting a .618 OPS in 2024, he elected free agency and signed a minor-league contract with the Orioles.
Jackson made his MLB debut for Baltimore last Aug. 1 and is on its active roster. He owns a career .260/.295/.417 slash line with 12 homers and 60 RBIs in 124 games.
MARK CANHA
A day before the deadline, the Mets traded Canha to Milwaukee for righthander Justin Jarvis.
Canha had a .770 OPS with 13 homers and 61 RBIs as a Met in 2022. In 89 games with the Mets in 2023, he had a .725 OPS, six homers and 29 RBIs.
Jarvis, now 26, reached Triple-A Syracuse in 2024 but elected free agency after the season. He currently pitches for the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers.
MAX SCHERZER
Scherzer, who was in the second season of a three-year, $130 million deal he signed with the Mets in 2023, was shipped to Texas for Luisangel Acuna three days before the deadline.
Scherzer, then 39, was 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA for the Mets three years ago. He waived his no-trade clause, and the Rangers agreed to pay $22.5 million of his remaining salary and the Mets the rest.
“I don’t have time to wait around,” Scherzer said later that month. “But I get what they’re doing with this organization. They have the right thought process behind it. And Steve [Cohen] is a great owner, trying to make this a winner here in New York.”
Acuna, the younger brother of Ronald Acuna Jr., was the 44th-best prospect in baseball at the time. The infielder played 109 games for the Mets over the last two years, posting a .248/.299/.341 slash line.
Acuna, 24, was traded to the White Sox (alongside Truman Pauley) in January for Luis Robert. He is batting .247/.279/.284 with a homer and 12 RBIs in 75 games.
DAVID ROBERTSON
Five days before the deadline, the Mets traded the then-39-year-old Robertson, who had a 2.05 ERA and 14 saves, to the Marlins for Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez.
Vargas, a 21-year-old shortstop, is the Mets’ No. 29 prospect. He reached Double-A Binghamton this season and has a .210/.331/.290 slash line in 26 games with the team.
Hernandez, a 22-year-old catcher, owns a .221/.346/.357 slash line in 78 games with High-A Brooklyn this season. He was the Mets’ No. 27 prospect last season but currently is not in their top 30.
“There’s a ton of talent in this clubhouse,” Robertson said after the trade. “We just weren’t able to put it together. When you can’t put it together in time, GMs and owners have to make decisions. I was one of those decisions and I got moved.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
