This trade deadline is playing out much differently for the Mets than last year’s.
The Mets continued buying Sunday, acquiring outfielder Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals in a trade that adds an established left-handed bat for their postseason push.
Winker is hitting .257 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI and 14 stolen bases and has a .793 OPS. His .374 on-base percentage ranks seventh in the National League.
The 30-year-old Winker, who hails from Buffalo, brings some pop to a lineup that had been seeking another lefty hitter.
He also provides depth to an outfield that remains without right fielder Starling Marte, who has been out since June 22 with a bone bruise in his right knee and whose timeline to return is uncertain. Center fielder Harrison Bader has also been nursing a sore ankle.
An impending free agent, Winker primarily played left field for Washington this season but boasts experience in all three outfield spots.
The Mets sent minor-league pitcher Tyler Stuart — their No. 17 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline — to Washington. A sixth-round pick in 2022, the right-handed Stuart went 3-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 17 starts at Double-A Binghamton this season.
Winker owns a .263 average, a .370 OBP and an .810 OPS over eight MLB seasons and was an All-Star in 2021 with the Cincinnati Reds.
He arrives with a colorful history with Mets fans, having waved to the Citi Field faithful after making a game-ending catch in 2019, and then again after he hit a game-tying three-run home run in 2022.
“I love them,” Winker said in 2022. “They are an amazing group of people. They are very passionate about their team and their city.”
His addition comes after the Mets traded for reliever Phil Maton on July 10 and fellow bullpen arm Ryne Stanek on Friday.
The Mets entered Sunday at 55-49 and in sole possession of the third and final NL Wild-Card spot. They were just a half-game behind the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres for the top Wild-Card position.
The midseason acquisitions come a year after the Mets held a full-blown fire sale, during which they shipped Max Scherzer to Texas and Justin Verlander to Houston before the 2023 deadline.
The Mets appeared destined to be sellers again when they fell a season-worst 11 games below .500 in late May, but president of baseball operations David Stearns is now rewarding hot play in the weeks that followed by bolstering the roster for the stretch run.
