Mets 10 Reds 9

The sweep that almost wasn’t.

With the trading deadline less than three days away, and Carlos Beltran off to San Francisco, one has to believe that the Mets are still wheeling and dealing — despite the public poker face displayed by Sandy Alderson. So what other Mets could be on the block?

Carlos Beltran has been traded — now what? Is Chris Capuano next?

So, who is this Zach Wheeler and why should we be happy he is a New York Met? Well, for openers, Wheeler is the textbook example of “live arm,” having a 10.7 K/9 ratio in low-A in 2010. Zach is a groundball machine and has the stuff to become the front end starter the Mets need if they are ever to return to contention. This year, pitching for San Jose in the California (high-A) league, he has gone 7-5 with 98 Ks in 88 IPs. Walks continue to be an issue, as he has also issued 47 of them this year, a slight improvement to his 5.89 BB/9 ratio last year. So he’s got some work to do, but at 21 and in his second pro season, he certainly has the time he needs to work things out.

Kudos to Sandy Alderson on a getting a player with the potential to become the Mets next great ace. For what it’s worth, he immediately becomes the Mets best prospect. Not a bad haul for an aging outfielder with a stupid clause in his contract. My guess is that Wheeler will finish the year in the Florida State League and maybe get an invite to Spring Training next year. One thing for sure, with Wheeler, Harvey, Familia and Mejia, plenty of trips to Eastern League Reading and International League Lehigh Valley will be in my travel itinerary next summer when the Mets farm teams come to town.

“The inevitable has finally become a reality.”

Pending player and league approval, Carlos Beltran has been traded to the San Francisco Giants for top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.  In the deal, the Mets will reportedly pay $4MM of Beltran’s remaining $6MM salary.

As you would imagine, the blogosphere has exploded with reaction:

• Ted Berg pays tribute to Beltran like only Ted Berg can.
• Amazin’ Avenue examines the newest member of the Mets’ organization, Zack Wheeler.
• Hitting Things with Sticks thinks Sandy Alderson is 2 for 2 in the trade department. 
• Daily Stache says goodbye to Beltran with the help of Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.
• Joe Petruccio uses watercolors to explain the trade.
• Mets Fever has video of Wheeler.
• MetsMerized has Beltran’s final statistical rankings as a Met.
• In other trade deadline news, MetsBlog reports that the Mets turned down a trade offer from the Angels: SS Erick Aybar for Jose Reyes.  Some guy named “One NL Executive” thought it would have been a good deal for the Mets.

And keep checking Mets Today for the latest news on the Beltran trade and much more.