Mets' Trade of Jason Vargas for Pretty Much Nothing Was a Senseless Decision to Save $2 Million

If the majority of New York Mets fans being somewhat-displeased with Jason Vargas being offloaded to Philadelphia (given his terrible 2018 campaign with the club) doesn't perfectly summarize the Amazins' rollercoaster 2019 season, we don't know what does.

When Queens devotees first looked at their phones and saw the notification from Jeff Passan, they probably thought "Alright, we probably got something decent in return given Vargas' dominant months of June and July."

Nope. For a left-handed hurler who has flaunted a 3.56 ERA across his last 26 starts, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen acquired a Double-A catching prospect hitting under .200 -- to literally save $2 million (which was his buyout on his $8 million team option for next season).

Since last Aug,. 14, Vargas has a 3.56 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). Just for giggles: Stroman in same period 3.45 ERA in 22 starts. Yes, NL/AL. But Vargas had been effective for nearly a year. #Mets #Phillies
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 29, 2019

We take back our earlier assessment. This trade perfectly summarizes the Mets' incompetent 2019 campaign.

Somehow, Vargas has been almost as good as Marcus Stroman over the last 12 months, who, by all means, is considered one of the American League's best starters. And Brodie managed to deal his organization's fourth- and sixth-best prospects for the former Blue Jays ace.

Austin Bossart is the Double-A catcher the Mets are reportedly getting for Jason Vargas. He's hitting .195 this season, and has a .261 career average in the minors. He is 26 years old.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 29, 2019

Yes, Vargas (36 years old) doesn't boast nearly as much upside as the Stro-Show (28), but Van Wagenen dealing the club's second-best starter this year behind Jacob deGrom for a bad 26-year-old minor-league catcher is crazy.

What exactly is the plan here, Brodie?