The MLB trade deadline is upon us. At 6pm EDT today the deadline will arrive and all deals will be final. The decks will have been reshuffled, and the buyers will renew their drive to a championship while the sellers will renew their hopes for a brighter future.
Of course, it is always better to have hope now than hope for the future, because there are so many variables in baseball that can change the expected future into something else. Injuries, performance regression, or just the inability of prospects to achieve once at the next level are factors that are difficult to predict, but devastating to aspirations.
And so we find our beloved New York Mets, sellers at the deadline, grasping the straws of hope that some of the return they get for dumping established talent will become brighter talent in the seasons to come.
I don't enjoy watching a team dismantled, but then again I didn't enjoy the quality of baseball being demonstrated by the current team. To turn the page from what has been over 13 months of disappointing results is a blessing. Unfortunately, the next few months will only be a training ground for the remaining players as they work to prove that they should be the building blocks for the next great team. As of this morning, the Mets are not only 19 games under .500, but they are also a weaker MLB team with the arms that have been relinquished.
Of all the players received in trades for David Peterson, Freddy Peralta, and AJ Minter, none are realistic projections for the majors in 2027. The group includes a single-A infielder, two high A position players (OF, corner IF), and three AA players (pitcher, two IF). They add depth and competition to the minor league rosters. If any of them bedazzles, they will be promoted to the next level, but with some maturing time there it is unlikely that any would see MLB action until the 2027 call-ups in September at best.
There are still deals in the making as of the time this article is published. The Mets still have some very attractive candidates to offer for potential returns that surpass recent trades. Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver are both players that could attract significant offers. With four catchers on the Mets' 40-man roster it is possible that Alvarez or Torrens could be dangled in front of the suitors.
In the end, the team will have parted with some underperforming veterans and their salaries for some organizational depth and maybe a few bright prospects. Then the post-season free agent period will open with the possibility to build out a competitive team.
For now, the team will play out the remaining 49 games and the fan base will begin to build renewed hope for the next season. That's what we do as Mets fans - hope for a brighter future.
10 comments:
I have been through too many wash and rinse cycles with the Mets to be optimistic. Who would have ever thought pre-season that as Mets, Peterson, Peralta and Senga would have combined to go 8-23. Of course, if Pete had been re-signed, maybe those 3 go 13-18 instead. Instead of Pete, the Mets got Polanco, an epic disaster.
Bad decisions and awful performances. Recovery time? Hard to predict. Not quick.
The 2026 re-build seems to be somewhat of an overreaction to the 2025 collapse. It was an on-paper solution that did not consider the realities of large scale, rapid change. Somewhere underneath all this distress is a blossoming core of players led by the youth. If you supplement that core with players that actually have experience playing their position, the results could surprise you.
Apparently Brazoban has been traded to the White Sox for two minor league pitchers. Fine.
I've been going through the motions with this team since I started blogging in 2005
Paul, today is a dark day for the Mets. It signals a failure that won’t be easily surpassed. These are lottery tickets that Stearns is accumulating and none of them are expected to help next year. Now, we all understand that the bullpen can be repaired in a single off season, so I am not shedding tears. What I am shedding tears for is that I liked Robert and Polanco as I felt Robert had some elite talent and Polanco was an under the radar player. I didn’t like Semien and still would cut him right now, and I don’t care if the cost was Nimmo or Tom Seaver: he sucks and why is he playing everyday? You are 19 games under .500, why isn’t Mauricio playing everyday?
Stearns has completely confused me in that he isn’t what we heard he was. He was a “trade them a year too early rather than a year too late” GM that held onto Baty last winter when I wanted him moved. In these trades, and non-trades, I wonder if Stearns asks for too much or falls for trap doors. Last year, he hugely failed the trade deadline as a buyer in my eyes. This year, I’m waiting to see but it seems that the market has corrected itself on shelling out big packages for rentals. Either the Mets are in need of a priest down there and maybe an exorcism, or they just can’t do anything right when they are trying to because of other factors.
The two real potential more than merely marginal moves remain. I don't know how realistic either is, but I can at least identify them: 1.The Brewers have yet to land a pitcher to stay in contention with the Dodgers. The best remaining starter is likely Holmes. But he won't bring back on his own anything truly terrific. Add Weaver; or better still Weaver and Raley and you are sending the Brewers 3 major league performers who are veterans, versatile and all in the midst of very good seasons. And Weaver is around for next year and I am sure Holmes would entertain an extension discussion to add security over the next three or four years. And the Brewers get 3 bulldog competitors. Two high leverage relievers and someone they can count on behind Miz in a playoff series.
That is the kind of trade package that can provide a worthy return, perhaps even the future starting third baseman for the Mets.
I'd sure as hell be pushing for that deal were I Stearns.
The second is the equivalent yard sale at closing time. After all the 'good junk' has been sold, and you still need to get rid of the stuff no one is prepared to buy, see what you can give away. and get as much salary relief as you can at this point. I think #1 on that list would be Semien but you'd have to pay down at least half of what he is owed over next two years to get anything resembling a decent return. You then have Polanco, Senga, both of whom are under contract. They don't have to be traded now as neither really fits what buyers at the deadline are looking for. Manaea does however but he is also someone who could help the Mets next year. I would save Senga for part of an offseason trade, and consider trading Manaea now with a partial buydown for next year just for salary relief as with Semien but with the possibility of matching him with Baty a potential prospect in return. This second goal is primarily salary relief of any sort for next year and beyond to be spent on FA pitching in the offseason..
Both are worthy goals.
I expect trades of either Taylor or Robert, and if the multiplayer trade to the Brewers or Diamondbacks mentioned above is not pulled off, then I expect that Raley will be traded, maybe Holmes as well and if not extension talks to commence, and Weaver to be traded but only if the return reflects heightened competition for his services.
Jules, I see Stearns moving his players from least valuable to most valuable. The Rays enticed him with some credible lottery tickets but I don’t know what he saw in the White Sox duo. There are still about five or six to trade, so he needs to get moving. The Yankees need either Varsho from Toronto or Taylor from the Mets. Maybe add a piece, but it looks like Stearns is trading piece by piece and not packaging.
Trading Semien would be hysterical and although I thought maaaaaybe that’s why they are playing everyday, he can be useful against lefties. He just isn’t as good as he thinks he is and I have heard in the past that those players are headaches.
The Brewers have been quiet so far. The Diamondbacks have been quiet so far. The Guardians have been pretty quiet so far. The Phillies are awfully quiet. The Astros have been quiet so far…. Who blinks first, the buyers or the sellers?
And I would have held Brazoban. What are you looking to gain unless it’s a rules change thing about older players still in arbitration and you end up with nothing.
I would have considered holding on to Brazoban or seen if there is a package with him and a starter, but the only Mets starter of real value now is Holmes and to max what you can get out of Holmes you need to add someone like Weaver and then a lefty like Raley. I believe that Stearns has confidence that he can put together the bulk of a v.g. bullpen in the offseason with players returning from injury, a few FA signings and maybe a trade if necessary.
Post a Comment