Mets Trade Marlon Byrd, John Buck to Pirates

The Mets on Tuesday traded Marlon Byrd and John Buck to the Pirates for a 19-year-old second base prospect named Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later.

Herrera is in his third season in the minors. At A-ball this year he is hitting .265 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs. Mets Blog reports that he was the Pirates 11th-ranked prospect.

Herrera played in the Futures Game at the All-Star Game at Citi Field last month, the second youngest player ever selected for the game. Scouts project him as a quality hitter with decent power for someone his size (5’10” 150 pounds).

Sandy Alderson declined to trade Byrd at the trading deadline, saying the prospects he was being offered were not good enough. We can only assume that Herrera is “good enough,” considering the Mets had to include Buck and an unknown amount of cash.

This is a good move by the Mets. Byrd was not going to be re-signed despite his comeback year. It was thought Buck could come back in 2014 as a mentor/backup to Travis d’Arnaud. That could still happen even though he was traded away.

The Mets have very few hitting prospects in the minors, so adding this guy certainly cannot hurt.

Oh, and it’s Marlon Byrd t-shirt night at Citi Field tonight. How awkward!