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Eric Young, Jr., a graduate of Piscataway High School, was traded to the Mets tonight.

(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

ATLANTA – The Mets traded pitcher Collin McHugh to the Rockies for second baseman/outfielder Eric Young, Jr., the team announced Tuesday night.

McHugh was designated for assignment Saturday. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Las Vegas and went 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA in seven innings for the Mets. He made one start.

Young, who graduated from Piscataway High School, will join the Mets Wednesday. He hit .242 in 180 plate appearances this season before the Rockies designated him for assignment.

To make room on the active roster for Young, the son of former major leaguer Eric Young, the Mets designated outfielder Collin Cowgill for assignment.

Cowgill, the Mets’ starting center fielder on Opening Day, hit .173 with two home runs in 53 plate appearances this season. He started in left field and batted leadoff in both ends of Tuesday’s doubleheader. He went 2-for-9 between the two games.

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The Mets also announced that they promoted outfielder Andrew Brown and optioned Zack Wheeler to Triple-A Las Vegas.

In a brief stint with the Mets earlier in the season, Brown batted .200 with one home run and a .694 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 18 plate appearances. He had recently been sidelined with an oblique strain.

The decision to demote Wheeler is only procedural. Wheeler made his major league debut last night as the Mets' 26th man, a rule that allows teams to add an extra player on the roster for a scheduled doubleheader.



The rule states the player added for the day can then be optioned to the minors and not required to remain there for 10 days as they otherwise are.



As a result, the Mets will capitalize on the loophole. Wheeler will be recalled in time to make his start for the Mets next Tuesday against the White Sox in Chicago.

Because Wheeler was never on the active roster, the Mets will need to make another transaction to fit Brown on the 25-man roster. A Mets spokesperson said the corresponding move will be announced Wednesday.