The 2022 trade deadline is still nine days away, but the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates rang the unofficial bell on trade season yesterday as the Pirates sent 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach to the Mets for rookie right-handed reliever Colin Holderman.

The Mets, 58-36 on the season with a 1.5-game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves entering play on Saturday, have long-professed a need for additional pop in the lineup, so this deal works on that level and then some.

Vogelbach’s acquisition is certainly the death knell for either Dominic Smith’s or J.D. Davis’s time as Mets employees, so expect to see one of them included in a future deal as the Mets continue to look for ways to augment the eighth-best offense in baseball in terms of batting average (.251) and sixth in wRC+ (110).

Through 75 games and 278 plate appearances this season with the Pirates, Vogelbach is having a positively Vogelbach-ian season, slashing .228/.338/.430 with an OPS+ of 117 and 12 home runs. He’s walking at an impressive 14.4% clip and has given great overall value for the meager $800K salary he signed for this season, plus at minimum, a $200K buyout in lieu of his $1.5 million team option being picked up for 2023.

Assuming the Mets do decide to pick up his option for ’23, Vogelbach will remain arbitration-eligible for 2024, his age-31 season.

For the Pirates, they’ve cashed-in a short-term veteran signing in exchange for a controllable bullpen arm in Holderman who can be thrust into the Major League bullpen immediately.

Debuting at the Major League level this season on May 15^th, Holderman has pitched in 15 big-league games thus far, all in relief, and contributed a 4-0 record with a tidy 2.04 ERA and an impressive 1.019 WHIP through a small sample of 17.2 innings.

The 6’7” righty has also posted an imposing .186 BAA in those same innings.

A ninth-round pick by the Mets in 2016, the 26-year-old Holderman posted strong numbers throughout his time in the minors, rising quickly through the ranks after the COVID-induced mess that was minor league baseball in 2020 and beyond.

Deeper Analysis

I love this trade for both teams.

It isn’t the blockbuster we all expect from Mets owner Steve Cohen and his highly motivated front office, but it is a thrifty move that improves the Mets on the margins.

Do not be surprised if Daniel Vogelbach is taking extremely meaningful at-bats deep into October.

As I mentioned before, this is exactly why teams like the Pirates sign guys like the well-traveled Vogelbach.

If they sink, you can cut bait and it costs you nothing relative to your overall payroll. But if he succeeds, you can cash him in for a young, controllable, interesting piece.

The Pirates have some of the most intriguing young talent in baseball coming up through their farm system currently.

If all goes well, this trade could stand as one of the first Major League-level moves that ultimately contributed to the next winning team in Pittsburgh.