Reese Kaplan -- Which Current Mets Could Be Traded?

The Daily News yesterday wrote a piece about the gargantuan to do list David Stearns currently has in front of him after, to be charitable, a disappointing season filled with problems.  To be more direct, think about how you had a team at the top of the NL East in April and May only to have it spiral out of contention by the end of the season in September. 

Now, to be fair, there were a few moves made to try to improve things.  On paper Gregory Soto was a moderate and credible reliever though not exactly a standout.  However, with Brooks Raley being the only known lefty in the pen the acquisition made a little bit of sense.

Tyler Rogers was the big can’t miss type of move.  He had quietly built a rock solid setup career based mostly on his odd delivery that was highly challenging for the batters he faced.  How good was he?  Well, for his entire career he owns a 2.76 ERA.  That is not a typo.  He’s twice hit the 80 game mark per season.  The strikeout numbers were not good but he walked well under 2 batters per 9 innings pitched.  About the only black mark was his career .241 BAA and with the Mets it climbed to .260, but he’s not exactly a batting practice pitcher.  If Stearns has any resolve then Rogers should be on his list for a call back conversation.

Then there is the monstrously bad performance of the man people felt was the key acquisition in Ryan Helsley.  There’s no way to sugarcoat the 7.20 ERA nor the .301 BAA as a Met  His WHIP was an astronomical 1.800 and he was walking 5 batters per 9 innings pitched.  Yes, he has a solid record as a closer.  No one knows if it was a blow to his ego to be a setup guy, self-pressure from putting himself into the midst of a playoff chase or simply a six week slump that came at the worst possible time.  He will want closer duties as a free agent and unless the Mets miss out on Edwin Diaz his name should be removed from Stearns’ Rolodex.

The last (and only) offensive contribution was the Mendoza line hitting Cedric Mullins who caused every Mets fan to draw blood scratching their heads in wonder and disbelief.  Yes, the club needed a solid center fielder and Mullins’ only positive was his skill roaming the outfield.  However his offense has been lackluster for quite some time and that carried over consistently as a Met.  After hitting respectively a mere .233 and .234 in 2023 and 2024 he went an abysmal sub-Mendoza .182 with the Mets.  It’s not as if you were realistically expecting him to do much better given his track record for the past three years, but we are talking about the same POBO who felt Jose Siri was the hidden gem answer to center field.  Hopefully Stearns finally learned those lessons.

Of course the departing free agent list contains many others but the team is also bereft of coaching replacements in the bullpen and at first base.  Not coincidentally the Braves hired the Mets ex-coaches Jeremy Hefner and Antoan Richardson this week.  Apparently they saw more value in these folks than did Stearns.  While I understand about inherited vs. chosen coaches, the fact is that there was a lot more good than bad that exited Citifield. 

Then there are the player decisions to be made from among those folks still on the roster.  Remember that neither Pete Alonso nor Edwin Diaz are there any more.  You know who is?  Frankie Montas!

So, moving forward it would seem you have a few buckets to consider as the roster gets rebuilt yet again.  Some players are proven, some are not and some are still in the minors.

Major League Chips

Jeff McNeil likely heads up this list with a relatively strong finish to another otherwise mediocre season.  For a guy who way back when lead the entire league in hitting, since then he’s tallied three years of .270, .238 and .243.  That’s not a bad week or two.  It’s three full seasons.  He’s also slated to earn $15 million this year.  It would appear that the only way to move the man is to pay down his now inequitable salary.

David Peterson is likely on this list as well because he’s in the arbitration phase of his career after imploding in 2025 which surprised most folks after a strong 2024.  For his entire career he’s a 4.12 ERA pitcher with good stuff but how long do you continue to wait for the man to blossom and establish himself as a bonafide major league starter?  He won’t require a pay-down of his contract if dangled in trade talks.  It’s more of a cleaning of the slate than it is someone whose paycheck is unfair.

Mark Vientos is clearly not on the same path he was in 2024.  With Brett Baty having delivered a mixed bag between third base and second base this past season he showed defensive skills and versatility to accompany his mid range bat.  If Vientos channels what he did in August and for all of 2024 then he has value on the market but the defensive minded Stearns is much more likely to retain Baty and hope his bat improves to a 25 HR/75 RBI level.  With strong defense you can live with low average. 

Francisco Alvarez was long regarded as the solution behind the plate with the Mets with his slowly improving defensive skills and his home run bat.  Then came various injuries and a demotion to Syracuse that questioned whether or not he is still in that previously held regard.  He did finish the season over the course of a half year’s worth of ABs providing a best ever .256 batting average to go along with an extrapolated 22 HRs and 64 RBIs.  If the defense is solid those are certainly numbers you can live with.  However, his name has come up as a centerpiece for a prospective Tarik Skubal trade, so he apparently belongs on the list of major league trade chips. 

Kodai Senga is as perplexing as his ghost fork.  You have seen top of the rotation stuff, then came injuries and finally a shuttle ride down to Syracuse.  What was most interesting in his team perception is that while the club was fighting tooth and nail to get that one extra win to assure themselves a trip to the postseason, he was never called back to the big club.  Still, as you slice it, in the majors Senga has made 52 starts, struck out 320 in 286 IP and owns a major league ERA of just 3.00.  The batting average against him is just .213 and he earns a modest $15 million per year for 2026, 2027 and an optional year in 2028.

Sean Manaea had a highly credible first year with the Mets which inspired the front office to bring him back in 2025.  Unfortunately between injuries and ineffectiveness he was not $25 million pitcher.  He earns that same salary in 2026 and 2027 as well.  Considering he finished 2025 with a 5.64 ERA no one is going to want to take him unless the Mets eat more than half his salary.  While not quite as bad a selection as Frankie Montas, he’s pushing it. 

Monday we’ll take a look at the unestablished major leaguers and minor league fodder who may or may not have a future in the Mets dugout.  The organizational ranking for prospects is quite good so it is certainly reasonable to expect 29 other clubs to take an interest in developmental talents.