PORT ST. LUCIE — In search of major league pitching depth before the 2021 season, the Mets participated in a three-way trade with the Padres and Pirates that netted left-hander Joey Lucchesi.

It was one of those trades that had plenty of unrecognizable names, with Joe Musgrove serving as the headliner. Musgrove went from Pittsburgh to San Diego, giving the Padres a nice rotation piece. For their part, the Mets sent the Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez, who had signed out of the Dominican Republic three years earlier for only $10,000. He was relatively unknown, having not ascended above rookie ball.

The trade sure looked like a win for the Mets, given that Lucchesi had four years of club control remaining and left-handed pitching isn’t the easiest to find.

Fast forward to today. When Lucchesi takes the mound for the Mets in an intrasquad scrimmage on Friday, it will be his first time he’s faced major league hitters in a game setting in more than 1 ½ years after undergoing Tommy John surgery. On the other hand, Rodriguez, still with the Pirates, is rated No. 55 among major league prospects by MLB.com. That ranking would make him the Mets’ fourth-best prospect, behind only Francisco Alvarez (No. 3), Brett Baty (No. 21) and Kevin Parada (No. 36). Rodriguez played at three levels in the minor leagues last season, posting a .996 OPS with 25 homers in 125 games overall.