Mets deal Eduardo Escobar to Angels for minor leaguers Coleman Crow, Landon Marceaux – The Denver Post

PHILADELPHIA — Third base officially belongs to Brett Baty.

The Mets traded Eduardo Escobar and cash considerations to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for two minor league pitchers Friday night in the middle of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. With the Mets trailing their NL East rivals 2-0, the club announced the trade for right-handers Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux, both of whom are Double-A starters.

Brandon Nimmo hit a home run off former Mets’ right-hander Taijuan Walker shortly thereafter, but it did little to lessen the blow for a stunned dugout.

“Billy had alerted me that it might come together during the game,” said manager Buck Showalter after the Mets’ 5-1 loss to the Phillies. “It’s a tough conversation and I wish I had more time to spend with him, but I spent some time with him up the runway. Everybody has a lot of respect for him. But I think the thing that makes it more palatable is that it’s a good spot for him and a good place for him. He can reestablish himself as the player we know he can be. We’re happy for him and the opportunity he’s going to get, but obviously, we’ll miss having him around.”

Escobar, a 34-year-old Venezuelan third baseman, has had a tough season, though you wouldn’t know it by his upbeat demeanor. There was pressure for him to perform this spring with Baty, one of the Mets’ top prospects, knocking at the door. He struggled during the World Baseball Classic and in spring training. He failed to hit during the early part of the season and the Mets were forced to call up Baty in late April.

Escobar performed well in a reserve role, hitting .394 with two home runs in the month of May, but he’s come back down again, going 4-for-20 with only one extra-base hit since June 1. Escobar is slashing .236/.286/.409 with a .695 OPS and four home runs. He has an OPS+ of 92.

With former Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela out for the season in Anaheim and Anthony Rendon on the injured list, the Angels have a need at third base.

“It seems like he’s going to get an opportunity to play over there every day and hopefully he does,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “I’m happy for him that he’s going to go to a place where he has an opportunity to play the game and impact the team.”

The team didn’t really have a place for Escobar after they called Luis Guillorme back to the Major Leagues. With former Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela out for the season in Anaheim and Anthony Rendon on the injured list, the Angels have a need at third base.

Escobar showed great respect to Baty and the club has continued to praise him and his work ethic and willingness to help Baty and Mark Vientos improve defensively at the hot corner. He’s a popular teammate in the clubhouse and regularly interacts with fans as well.

“Great clubhouse guy and friend,” said Brandon Nimmo. “Someone I will keep in touch with for years after baseball.”

This trade probably is not a signal that more trades are coming, but it is a warning sign to a team that is marred in an unexpectedly bad season. The Mets are still struggling to grasp their place in the standings — fourth place in the NL East and 14 games behind the Atlanta Braves — and they’re not yet ready to admit defeat.

“I don’t see us as a team that is going to sell off,” Lindor said. “I see us as a team that is going to contend and that’s going to be there. We’re built to be contenders. We’re not playing like it right now, but we’re built for it.”

General manager Billy Eppler is familiar with Crow since he drafted him as the general manager of the Angels in 2019 in the 28th round of the draft. The 22-year-old is currently on the 7-day minor league injured list, but the Georgia native was 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts for Double-A Rocket City before the injury. Marceaux was chosen by the Yankees in the 2018 draft but opted to play college ball at LSU and went to the Angels in the third round of the 2021 draft. The 23-year-old is 3-6 with a 6.41 ERA in 12 Double-A starts this season.

MLB Pipeline rates Crow and Marceaux as the 19th and 20th-best prospects in the Los Angeles system. The Mets are lacking pitching depth at the upper levels of the minor league system and this move helps add a little of it, while also opening up third base permanently for Baty and giving Escobar a chance to play on a more regular basis.

“I wish him nothing but the best,” Lindor said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve had in my career.”

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