The New York Mets made another move, obtaining pitcher Tyler Clippard from the Oakland Athletics for minor league pitcher Casey Meisner. Over the weekend, the Mets traded for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson of the Braves to help improve their offense, and now they have targeted the back end of the bullpen with this move on Monday.
Clippard was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 9th round of the 2003 MLB Draft, and made his major league debut against the Mets on May 27, 2007. He is a 9-year veteran who has been an All-Star twice, boasting a 2.87 career ERA and 1.091 Career WHIP.
The Mets will use Clippard to set up Jeurys Familia, their primary closer. Clippard is expected to help the Mets against left-handed hitters, who are hitting just .100 against him this season, to fill a huge need for the team against lefty batters since Jerry Blevins went on the disabled list with a broken forearm.
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The Mets’ move earlier this week has already paid dividends as Uribe had a walk-off hit to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 10th inning on Sunday, and may not be done yet, as they are rumored to be looking at the Cincinnati Reds’ Jay Bruce, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Gerardo Parra, and the San Diego Padres’ Will Venable.
Clippard will be a free agent at the end of the season.
All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com