Mets acquire Fernando Salas

On August 31, the Mets announced a trade with the Angels that brought reliever Fernando Salas to Queens.  It was a one-for-one swap, as New York sent prospect Erik Manoah to Los Angeles in the deal. Salas, a pending free agent, will strictly be a one month rental for the Mets, but they will look for him to become an important piece of their bullpen down the stretch.

For more details on this trade, continue reading. 

Salas, 31, has played for the Cardinals and Angels in his 7 year career. Once regarded as an up-and-coming reliever, he posted a 2.28 ERA in 68 appearances for St. Louis back in 2011, but his career has fallen off considerably since that point. In November 2013, he was packaged with David Freese in a deal that sent Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos to the Cardinals.

In 2014, his first season with the Angels, he posted a 3.38 ERA in 57 appearances out of the bullpen. However, over the last two seasons, he has seen his ERA climb to 4.31 in 130 outings. One constant throughout his career, however, has been his above-average control. Since 2013, he has maintained a 2.2 BB/9 ratio, as well as a 8.8 K/9. 

So what exactly are the Mets planning on doing with Salas? Well, at the moment it appears that they would like him to be the 2016 version of Addison Reed. As you may recall, the Mets acquired Reed at last year's August waiver trade deadline, and the 26 year old has enjoyed plenty of success in New York since that point. 

As said in the opening paragraph, Salas is a free agent-to be, so the Mets may not have much time to find out what he can do. His base salary for 2016 was $2.4 million, and there is roughly $419K left on the deal.  It is possible that they slide him into a 7th inning role for the next few weeks, as Hansel Robles has struggled of late.  At first glance, Salas' numbers aren't too exciting, as he currently sports a 4.47 ERA in 58 appearances. However, he has been solid as of late, putting up a 2.60 ERA in his last 17 1/3 innings. 

One final note: If the Mets make the post-season, Salas WILL be eligible to play for the team since he was acquired before September 1st. 

The prospect, Erik Manoah, is a 20 year old pitcher that was pitching in Single-A this year with the Brooklyn Cyclones. As a 13th round pick in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft, he has struggled in his two seasons of professional baseball. This year, Manoah has a 5.37 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts), but put up a solid 9.1 K/9 ratio.