Mets trade Mark Canha to Brewers for Justin Jarvis

The Mets have traded outfielder Mark Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Jarvis, per Will Sammon. Canha joins David Robertson and Max Scherzer in having been traded from the Mets’ 2023 roster ahead of the trade deadline.

Signed to a two-year, $26.5 million contract ahead of the 2022 season, Canha was very good for the Mets last year, hitting .266/.367/.403 with a 128 wRC+. This year, his production has slipped a bit at the plate, as he currently has a .245/.343/.381 line with a 107 wRC+. Canha’s contract includes a club option for a third year at $11.5 million, and Sammon reports that the Mets will pay Canha’s 2023 salary while leaving the money involved in the option to the Brewers.

Jarvis was drafted by the Brewers in the fifth round of the 2018 amateur draft. He’s spent this season in the upper levels of the the minors, having put up a 3.33 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 26 walks in 75.2 innings in Double-A. He was recently promoted to Triple-A, and he has a 10.80 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 12 walks in just 11.2 innings at the level. Here’s some insight on him from our very own Steve Sypa:

The 6’2”, 185-pound right-hander throws from high three-quarters arm slot with a long action through the back. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, sitting 90-94 MPH and averaging 92 MPH. The pitch generally records average spin rates for a fastball, but thanks to its axis, the spin is mostly backspin, giving it ride in the zone. He complements the pitch with a gyroscopic slider that sits around 80 MPH, a curveball that sits in the mid-to-high-70s, and a low-80s splitter. All three project as fringe-average offerings, with his slider flashing average-to-above-average with its late slice through the zone.

Jarvis prefers throwing to his glove side, throwing right-handed batters down and away and left-handed batters down and in. While he gets his fair share of strikeouts, he has had problems with home runs in the past, his 19 homers allowed tied for most in the Midwest League in 2022. He has a deep enough arsenal and can command all of his pitches well enough to start, as his whole is greater than the sum of his individual parts.