The Mets acquired right-handed starting pitcher Paul Blackburn from the Oakland A’s and right-handed reliever Tyler Zuber from the Tampa Rays on Tuesday, just a few hours ahead of the 6 p.m. trade deadline.
With injuries to Christian Scott and Kodai Senga last week, the Mets needed supplemental rotation help and weren’t willing to mortgage the farm to get it. They gave up 22-year-old A-ball pitcher Kade Morris for Blackburn, a relatively low cost for a pitcher with a year of team control left before free agency.
An All-Star in 2022, Blackburn is 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA over nine starts for the A’s this year. He missed significant time with a stress reaction in his right foot but returned over the weekend to record one final goal in for the A’s against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing four earned runs over five innings.
With a fastball in the low-90s, Blackburn doesn’t throw particularly hard, but he also doesn’t give up a lot of hard contact. He keeps the ball on the ground about 45% of the time with a four-seam fastball, a cutter, a changeup and a slider while also mixing in a curveball and a sinker.
Blackburn, a 30-year-old native of the San Francisco Bay Area, was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Cubs in 2012. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners with former Mets DH Daniel Vogelbach in 2016 and traded to Oakland in the 2016 offseason for Danny Valencia.
Minor league reliever Paul Gervase went to the Rays in exchange for Zuber, a journeyman reliever who went nearly three years between big league starts. He was signed to a minor league contract with the Rays in May after a short stint with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. A 29-year-old Arkansas native, Zuber made two appearances for the Rays this season, allowing one earned run over 3 1/3 innings, and stranding both inherited runners he faced. He struck out 1/3 of the runners he faced in Triple-A this season in 22 2/3 innings.
Zuber spent two seasons with the Kansas City Royals before he was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2022 offseason and then released in 2023. He started the season with the Cleveland Guardians in spring training but was released.
Gervase, a big righty (6-10) drafted out of LSU in 2022, was a popular player in the Mets’ system. He went 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 22 appearances for Double-A Binghamton this season.
The Mets previously traded for right-handed relievers Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, as well as outfielder/DH Jesse Winker.
