Mets get Trevor Gott, Chris Flexen in trade with Mariners

The Mets have sent reliever Zach Muckenhirn to the Mariners in exchange for fellow pitchers Chris Flexen and Trevor Gott, per Ken Rosenthal. The Mets plan to designate Flexen for assignment, which means the trade is essentially just for Gott.

Flexen is a familiar name around these parts, as the 29-year-old came up through the Mets’ system and made his major league debut for the team in 2017. In his brief stints at the major league level in New York between that season and 2019, he totaled just 68.0 innings and had a rather unsightly 8.07 ERA along the way.

From there, Flexen went to Korea, where he had a very successful 2020 season before returning to the United States on a contract that guaranteed one year, included a club option for a second year, and had a vesting option for a third year. All of those options wound up happening, and Flexen is on an $8 million salary this year. The Mets, per Joel Sherman, are picking up the remainder of his salary in the deal.

Both Flexen and Muckenhirn had recently been designated for assignment. Flexen pitched very well for the Mariners in 2021 and 2022, as he put together a 3.66 ERA over the course of 317.1 innings in those seasons. But this year, he had a 7.71 ERA in 17 appearances—just four of which were starts.

Muckenhirn joined the Mets over the offseason and spent most of his time this year in Triple-A Syracuse. In the big leagues, he had a 6.00 ERA in six innings of work.

And last but not least, Gott had a 4.03 ERA and a 3.01 FIP in 29.0 innings out of Seattle’s bullpen this year. In 214.2 innings as a major league pitcher, all of which have come in relief, he has a 4.70 ERA.