By landing lefty starter from Rays

Twins’ and Rays’ rotations since breaking back into the majors as a 35-year-old. His 3.16 ERA since 2016 ranks tenth among qualified starting pitchers.

When Hill puts on a Mets jersey, he will be the oldest player to do so since 38-yearold Rajai Davis in 2019. This marks the first time the Mets have had a player 40 or older on the roster since Bartolo Colon celebrated his 43rd birthday during the 2016 season. Hill is older than several members of the Mets’ coaching staff, including his 39-year-old manager and 35-year-old pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.

“We don’t have a guy like that here,” Rojas said, while disclosing that this won’t be the first time he’s managed a player that’s older than him. “We don’t have that veteran guy with experience like this that can bring different stories from different teams and has been in the playoffs multiple times. Age is just a number I think. I think it’s going to make the team better, make us better, and make me a better manager.”

Acting general manager Zack Scott was able to acquire Hill without giving up any of the Mets’ most cherished prospects. Dyer did not crack the Top 30 of the team’s prospect rankings on either MLB.com or FanGraphs. Dyer is a 23-year-old taken in the fourth round of the 2020 Draft out of the University of Arizona. He’s played 36 games in the Mets’ system at Single-A, hitting .194/.392/.452 while playing catcher, both corner infield spots and right field. Hunter is an aging journeyman who pitched in four games for the 2021 Mets. His greatest contribution to the club’s history was recording his first hit and later scoring a run in a 4-3 win over the Braves on May 18.

The move for Hill signals a proactive approach from the Mets toward the trade deadline, which is still a week away. The team could certainly add more pieces before then, but for now, they’ve addressed a pressing need on the mound.