Former Tennessee stars Blade Tidwell, Drew Gilbert traded by New York Mets in deadline deal
Published:
Former Tennessee right-hander Blade Tidwell and ex-Volunteers outfielder Drew Gilbert were traded by the New York Mets to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon as part of a package to acquire righty reliever Tyler Rogers.
Tidwell and Gilbert were shipped west along with right-hander Jose Butto by the Mets 1 day before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. League sources confirmed the trade to The Athletic on Wednesday, with the Mets dipping into their well of prospects to acquire the 34-year-old submarine-style pitcher. Over the past 5 seasons, Rogers has a combined 2.74 ERA while appearing in a league-high 346 games, so the Mets liked his ability and his durability. Rogers’s 1.80 ERA this season is ranked 9th among all relievers.
Tidwell was a 2nd-round pick in 2022 out of Tennessee. He made his major-league debut earlier this season, posting a 9.00 ERA in 4 games with the Mets.
Gilbert was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Justin Verlander deal 2 trade deadlines ago. He was a consensus top-100 prospect before falling off the map in 2024. But Gilbert has responded this season and had a .785 OPS at Triple-A Syracuse. He was originally a first-round pick by the Astros out of Tennessee in the same 2022 draft that featured Tidwell.
Now, the 2 former Volunteers stars who were drafted together 3 years ago and reunited in the Mets organization are staying together yet again as new members of the Giants organization.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
