The Mets, who had been in search of rotation help ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, have officially acquired right-hander Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics.
In exchange for Blackburn, the Mets are sending 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Kade Morris to the A's.
Morris, whom the Mets selected in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft, would've been the No. 24 ranked prospect on SNY's end-of-season Mets Top 30 list.
He got off to a bit of a rough start this season, but had been pitching extremely well of late with High-A Brooklyn, posting a 1.64 ERA and 23 strikeouts across three July outings.
Blackburn, 30, missed significant time earlier this season with a right foot injury but he pitched to a 4.41 ERA (4.59 FIP) and 1.15 WHIP in 51.0 innings over nine starts.
For his career, Blackburn -- who has a six-pitch mix -- has a 4.83 ERA (4.36 FIP) and 1.39 WHIP in eight seasons with the A's, where he has appeared in 81 games (77 starts).
Blackburn's four-seam fastball and cutter have been hit hard this season, but he's had lots of success with his changeup (.184 slugging percentage against), slider (.242 slugging against), and curve (.235 slugging against).
He is earning $3.45 million this season and is under team control for 2025, which is his final year of arbitration eligibility.
With the Mets adding Blackburn, it stands to reason that he could take the rotation spot of Tylor Megill.
The acquisition of Blackburn should also allow the Mets to keep Jose Butto in a relief role, where he has excelled, allowing just two earned runs across eight appearances.
Meanwhile, with the Mets in need starting pitching help beyond this season, Blackburn helps in that regard as well.
Of the current members of the starting rotation, only David Peterson and Megill are under team control beyond 2024.
Kodai Senga, likely out for the regular season due to a calf injury, is under contract through 2027.
Christian Scott has become a wild card of sorts, with him planning to rehab and return later this season from a UCL strain, but with Tommy John surgery a possibility if that goes sideways.