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In a move that seemed inevitable, Jason Vargas was traded to the Phillies on Monday afternoon. Though the Mets were buyers as recently as [checks calendar] yesterday, it seemed all but inevitable that Vargas would find a home elsewhere before Wednesday afternoon.
In return, the Mets received 26 year old minor league catcher Austin Bossart. Bossart, a 14th round draft pick in the 2015 draft, Currently playing for AA Reading Fightin’ Phils, he is not exactly having a fantastic offensive season, currently hitting .195/.303/.335. He is not currently listed on any major Phillies prospect lists.
Bossart has been lauded in the early post-trade press as a solid defender. Justin Toscano noted that in his first four full seasons of his professional ball, he has thrown out at least 20 runners, and has already thrown out 19 this season so far.
We reached out to our friends at The Good Phight, and this is what their Alex Carr had to say about Bossart:
Austin Bossart, a 26 year-old catcher out of Abilene, Texas, was the Phillies’ 14th round draft pick in 2015. While he’s never been known for his production in the box, Bossart is a solid option behind plate, and has consistently seen playing time in Philadelphia’s Double-A affiliate because of that fact.
Bossart has struggled thus far in 2019, and has taken a step back from what was a more encouraging 2018 offensively. That said, his defensive skills have maintained their fringe-player potential.
He’s a guy that you’ll probably see hit the majors once or twice, but will eventually settle as an upper-minors glove.
We listed two catchers on our 2019 Top 25 Prospect list, and added a few more in the ‘Other Players of Note” addendum, and it doesn’t appear that Bossart will bump any of them from their spot in the organizational depth chart. While there is always a need for organizational depth, this is far from a sexy acquisition.
In what can only be described as a Metsian twist, Bossart played college ball with Bradley Wilpon, Jeff’s son, at the University of Pennsylvania. Make of that what you will.