RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesThe Mets have fascinating decisions to make before Monday’s trade deadline.
New York is a seller, which means it has a handful of veterans who are going to be moved. Sprinkled throughout their roster, however, are several valuable pieces with team control extending beyond this year.
With interest in some of those players percolating, the Mets need to find the right balance between keeping talented pieces to try to contend next year and getting more valuable assets back from a contender making a buy-now push.
To get a better sense of who is already packing their bags and who is untouchable in those trade talks, we split 27 players from the Mets’ 40-man roster into seven tiers. They’re listed here from most likely to be traded to least likely.
IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
LHP A.J. Minter
RHP Freddy Peralta
LHP Brooks Raley
OF Tyrone Taylor
There’s nothing to debate here.
All four of these players are on expiring contracts — they will enter free agency after this season — and with the Mets no longer contending , New York will trade them away.
Minter and Raley can help a contender bolster the back of its bullpen with an experienced left-handed reliever who thrives in high-leverage spots. Taylor, a right-handed hitter, has been on fire recently at the plate, and he has a track record of quality defense in the outfield. Even with Peralta’s disastrous season in a Mets uniform, the Mets can cash in on the market for starting pitching. Teams are already lining up to get a shot at bringing out the best in Peralta down the stretch.
IT WOULD BE A SURPRISE IF THEY’RE NOT DEALT
RHP Clay Holmes
OF Luis Robert Jr.
Both Holmes and Robert are likely to be traded, but there’s still a slim chance they stick around. It’s very slim, but it exists.
For Holmes, the Mets still have time to talk about an extension . It doesn’t sound like they’ve made too much progress on that front, though. If there’s no extension, the Mets must move Holmes because he’s sure to decline his $12 million player option for next year and test the free agent market this winter. That makes him essentially a rental, just like the four veterans in the previous tier.
Robert, meanwhile, can be under team control next year. He has a club option for $20 million to stay in a Mets uniform for 2027. Since returning from the injured list, Robert has had three hits in 24 plate appearances, including two home runs. It wouldn’t make much sense at all at this point to keep Robert, though. He gets hurt every year, and the Mets’ outfield is full for next year and beyond. More on those “untouchables” later...
FOR THE RIGHT PRICE
IF/OF Brett Baty
RHP Huascar Brazobán
LHP Sean Manaea
C Luis Torrens
1B/DH Mark Vientos
RHP Luke Weaver
1B/OF Jared Young
The Mets can go into the deadline with a steep asking price for all of these players, especially Weaver and Torrens, due to the widespread interest in relievers and catchers.
Weaver is intriguing because of his dominance (1.93 ERA), his ability to pitch in the back of the bullpen, and his experience in New York. The Mets could sell high and get a strong package back for him, but if they move him, they’d create a huge hole there for next season.
Same with Torrens. The Mets have built a solid catching tandem around Torrens’ defense and Francisco Alvarez’s power. Trade Torrens, and who takes his spot next season?
Bottom line here: the Mets would be foolish not to listen. It all comes back to contending next year and whether the Mets see these pieces as part of the best version of their roster to win in ‘27. If another team comes to them with an offer that exceeds their internal value for that player — whether it’s a utility man like Baty, a piece of next year’s rotation like Manaea or a controllable reliever like Brazobán — it should be thoroughly considered.
IT WOULD TAKE A HAUL
C Francisco Alvarez
RHP Devin Williams
A case can be made for Alvarez and Williams to be in the previous category, but with the catcher’s control and upside and the closer’s contract, it would take more for the Mets to get rid of them.
Interest in Alvarez should be high. Maybe now is the time to move on from a player who has shown flashes of his potential at a premium position but hasn’t lived up to the hype attached to his prospect rankings. It won’t be easy to replace that kind of bat at catcher, though; that’s why there’s such a demand for catchers around the league.
Getting rid of Alvarez — or Williams — would create a glaring weakness for next year’s team. This is a completely different conversation if the Mets are willing to enter a multi-year rebuild. Trading either of these players — and many of the pieces in the previous category — would only add more items to the Mets’ to-do list this winter, so the return would need to be significant.
WHO WOULD WANT THESE GUYS?
IF Ronny Mauricio
DH Jorge Polanco
2B Marcus Semien
RHP Kodai Senga
There isn’t enough value here for a contender to target these players in trade talks.
Polanco ($20 million through 2027), Semien ($26 million through 2028) and Senga ($15 million through 2027, plus a club option) are all under contract for next year. Maybe the Mets can try to offload one of those pieces at the deadline and attach it to a previously mentioned piece? Between their salaries moving forward, their injuries this year and their poor play when healthy, that would be a challenge.
Mauricio’s path to big-league playing time with the Mets is still uncertain. His numbers are strong in Triple-A, but he hasn’t capitalized on sporadic opportunities in a Mets uniform. He doesn’t fit on a contending team, but another team could take a chance on his potential, power and positional versatility.
UNLIKELY BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE
3B Bo Bichette
SS Francisco Lindor
It’s hard to envision a Bichette or Lindor trade because of their contracts. Both of them have a no-trade clause, which also complicates a pathway to a trade.
Bichette has the first of his two opt-outs af...
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