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The Mets sent newly acquired prospect Luisangel Acuna to Double-A Binghamton once the Max Scherzer trade became official Sunday and general manager Billy Eppler said the 21-year-old is “close to the big leagues.”
“This is talent that you can’t access,’’ Eppler said of Acuna, the brother of Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves.
Eppler added that Acuna would play shortstop “right away” but the organization also wants him to build his “positional versatility” as he was doing in the Rangers’ minor league system.
Eppler pointed to Acuna’s “athleticism” as a reason they were excited to add him to the organization.
“We’re excited to get a prospect of this caliber into the system,’’ Eppler said.
The GM noted that once Tuesday’s trade deadline passes, he will spend more time looking at the players the Mets have at Triple-A Syracuse, as well as Binghamton.
But regardless of how much major league talent is sacrificed by the deadline, Eppler said they wouldn’t rush up any prospects.
“That’s a dangerous equation,’’ Eppler said. “When you bring guys up [to the majors], there’s a lot of attention and gravity to the games and it’s a different environment. You want them to feel good about where they are. You don’t want to throw them into a situation they’re not ready for. I’ve seen players go backwards from that. I’d rather be too late than too early.”
With Scherzer officially a Ranger, the Mets have a hole in their rotation and Buck Showalter said Tylor Megill and David Peterson were among the possibilities to take the spot.
Megill gave up two runs over six innings in his start for Syracuse on Saturday after consecutive poor outings at Triple-A.
Peterson has mostly pitched effectively out of the bullpen since the return of Jose Quintana bounced him from the rotation.
The lefty gave up an unearned run in two innings Sunday.
The Mets also called up Vinny Nittoli from Syracuse on Sunday to take Scherzer’s spot on the roster.
Starling Marte, who’s been on the IL while dealing with the effects from migraine headaches, took batting practice Sunday and Showalter said the outfielder would travel with the team on the coming road trip.
Showalter said Marte is going to Kansas City with the team to “continue to work to get back into playing baseball. He’s had a long time off.”
Marte has been sidelined since July 16 and Showalter said as of Sunday there was no plan to send the outfielder on a rehab stint.
Justin Verlander became the 49th player in MLB history to win 250 games, a milestone the right-hander called “pretty special.”
“You don’t play the game for big, splashy numbers but… that’s a moment you have to take a step back and appreciate,’’ Verlander said. “It’s a pretty cool accomplishment.”
Showalter called reaching 250 wins “might be the new 300.”
Francisco Lindor homered for a second straight game and also doubled in Sunday’s 5-2 win over Washington.
The shortstop has been inconsistent at the plate, but mostly hit well since mid-June.
He has an OPS of .964 over his last 36 games.
As the Mets approach Tuesday’s deadline as sellers, they finished July with a 14-9 record, their best month of the season.
The only other month in which they had even a .500 record was April when they went 14-11.
Their season was undone by a 7-19 June.
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