How have ex-Mets done since Deadline?

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

A common sentiment from sports executives is that the best trades are win-wins. It’s logical. If a general manager consistently wins every trade and his opponent loses, other clubs will eventually stop dealing with them. As such, a Deadline seller like the Mets has no incentive to root against the players they’ve shipped elsewhere.

In recent weeks, this newsletter has been dedicated largely to the prospects the Mets acquired on and around the Deadline. It’s now worth a quick glance over the shoulder at the seven players the Mets traded away, and how they’ve fared in the three weeks since the Deadline:

Max Scherzer, SP
Traded with cash to the Rangers for Luisangel Acuña Jr.
Mets stats: 19 starts, 9-4, 4.01 ERA
Rangers stats: 4 starts, 3-1, 2.66 ERA

For Scherzer in Texas, it’s been more of a mixed bag than the above numbers indicate. He allowed three runs in his first inning with the Rangers, but nothing else the rest of that outing. Two excellent starts followed, then a clunker last time out against a weak Brewers offense. But Scherzer does look much improved under the hood, as he’s striking out more batters with the Rangers and allowing homers at a far less frequent clip. Only one hitter has taken him deep in four starts, compared to 10 in his last five outings before the trade. Either way, Scherzer appears overwhelmingly likely to head back to the playoffs for a Texas team that’s favored to win its division. His legacy there will depend upon what he does in October.

Justin Verlander, SP
Traded with cash to the Astros for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford
Mets stats: 16 starts, 6-5, 3.15 ERA
Astros stats: 3 starts, 2-1, 4.50 ERA

Verlander’s strikeout rate is notably down since the trade, but it’s still a small sample size (albeit for a pitcher who has struggled all season to whiff batters at his historical norm). The Astros, who sit just behind the Rangers in the standings, acquired Verlander in part because of their familiarity with him. There’s nothing in his early performance to suggest he won’t be the same pitcher he was in New York -- diminished from his Cy Young form of last season, but still plenty good enough to serve as a reliable staff anchor.

David Robertson, RP
Traded to the Marlins for Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernández
Mets stats: 2.05 ERA, 14 saves in 17 chances
Marlins stats: 7.88 ERA, 3 saves in 5 chances

Miami has been a bit of a nightmare for Robertson, who blew two of his first five save chances with the Marlins (allowing six combined runs in those two games). Robertson was beginning to show signs of regression even before the trade, with a 4.00 ERA and one blown save over his final nine outings for the Mets. And unlike Scherzer and Verlander, he was dealt to a team outside solid playoff position; since then, Robertson’s personal struggles have nudged the Marlins into an even more precarious spot.

Tommy Pham, OF
Traded with cash to the D-backs for Jeremy Rodríguez
Mets stats: 79 games, .268/.348/.472, 10 HR
D-backs stats: 16 games, .250/.290/.500, 3 HR

Pham’s poor start to the season and sporadic early playing time helped obscure the fact that since late May, he’s been one of the league’s more potent hitters. The veteran outfielder has carried that over to his new team, recovering from an early slump to construct a 12-game hitting streak, crank out nine extra-base hits over his last 10 games and establish himself -- so far -- as one of the league’s top Deadline rentals. The rest of the D-backs have followed his lead; losers of nine straight from Aug. 1-11, they’ve since won eight of 10 (thanks in part to Pham’s walk-off double on Monday night).

Mark Canha, OF
Traded with cash to the Brewers for Justin Jarvis
Mets stats: 89 games, .245/.343/.381, 6 HR
Brewers stats: 17 games, .228/.308/.368, 1 HR

Although the aforementioned Brewers offense has gone from bottom third of the league in run production to the top third since the Trade Deadline, Canha has not been at the center of that rejuvenation. But he’s been solid enough. Occupying much the same role he did in New York, Canha has drawn starts at both corner-outfield positions as well as first base, while routinely batting in the top half of the order. He has nine RBIs in 17 games since joining a Brewers team that’s in solid position to win the NL Central. Canha has also, assuredly, already learned the ins and outs of the Milwaukee food scene.

Dominic Leone, RHP
Traded with cash to the Angels for Jeremiah Jackson
Mets stats: 31 appearances, 4.40 ERA
Angels stats: 6 appearances, 3.52 ERA

Mostly a low- and medium-leverage bullpen option during his brief run with the Mets, Leone has continued to work in the middle innings in Anaheim. He picked up a two-inning save on Aug. 8 but hasn’t done much else of note for an Angels team that -- despite its Trade Deadline reload -- continues to tumble down the standings in the AL Wild Card race.

Eduardo Escobar, INF
Traded with cash to the Angels for Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux
Mets stats: 40 games, .236/.286/.409, 4 HR
Angels stats: 32 games, .240/.280/.330, 1 HR

Traded weeks before the Mets committed to a full-scale selloff, Escobar recorded six hits over his first four games with the Angels before falling flat. He has reached base at a .256 clip since that time, shifting to more of a bench role as Anaheim has fallen out of realistic playoff contention. One off-field highlight for Escobar: days after his trade, the native Venezuelan became an American citizen, flying home to Miami to take the naturalization test.