Mets swing trade for Houser and Taylor from Brewers

*Photo from Reuters*

   Trades are being made once again. The New York Mets have acquired RHP Adrian Houser and OF Tyrone Taylor from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for RHP Coleman Crow, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Both teams have confirmed the trade.

   New York president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement that "We are excited to add Adrian and Tyrone to our team. Tyrone brings a well-rounded skillset to our outfield grouping and can play all three outfield positions at a high level. Adrian is a proven major-league starter who continues to add to our rotation depth and will pitch valuable innings for us this year."

   The trade presents as a salary dump for the Brewers. Houser, who is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the year, is projected to make $5.6 million in his final year of arbitration. Taylor, who is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, is projected to earn $1.7 million.

   Houser completed his 7th year in the majors in 2023 with the Brewers. He posted a 4.12 ERA, 3.99 FIP, and 1.392 WHIP, averaging 1.1 home runs per 9 innings and 7.8 strikeouts per 9 in 21 starts, two appearances out of the bullpen, and 111 1/3 innings. He did not appear in the postseason.

   When he's at his best, Houser is a pitcher that excels at limiting hard contact from opposing hitters and limiting home runs, though he took a step back in those categories in 2023. Taylor adds another outfield option for the Mets who only had 3 major league outfielders on their roster before the trade, with Taylor able to serve in a 4th outfielder role who can draw starts in each outfield position.

   Last season served as Taylor's 5th major league season with the Brewers. While dealing with a nagging elbow injury, Taylor had a .234/.267/.446 slash line with a 91 OPS+, hitting 10 home runs and 17 doubles with 35 RBI's in 81 games. His one hit in the postseason was a home run.

   In return for Houser and Taylor, the Brewers get Crow, who was the 29th ranked prospect in the Mets farm system according to MLB Pipeline. He appeared in 4 games for Double A Rocket City in the Los Angeles Angels system before undergoing Tommy John Surgery, which will keep him out for the start of the 2024 season.

   Crow's last full season came in 2022 in the Angels system. Playing with Rocket City, Crow posted a 4.85 ERA and 1.313 WHIP, averaging 1.4 home runs per 9 and exactly 9 strikeouts per 9 over 128 innings and 24 games, with all but one being starts.

   Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold said of the trade that "We’re just looking at this more from the perspective of we have a number of exciting outfielders that we feel good about and we have a number of exciting young arms. And we're looking at Crow as somebody that could potentially help us later in the season at the upper levels to the major league level. Being able to convert both those guys into that type of a piece for us was pretty exciting."

   With the Mets, Houser joins a rotation that includes Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino, with Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi also in the mix. Taylor joins an outfield group that has Starling Marte, DJ Stewart, and Brandon Nimmo. The Brewers now have 7 arbitration eligible players left.