Reese Kaplan -- Who Could the Mets Peddle Away In Trades?

So let’s pretend for a moment that the Mets actually have a General Manager whose job it is to improve the roster for the upcoming abbreviated season. Forget for a moment the chronically injured and lightning in a bottle candidates the POBO felt were suitable replacements for All Stars like Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz.  Let’s instead look at it from the other perspective of who could/should go in possible trades to help the roster become one better than a last place team.

The first name on the list is Kodai Senga who finished the 2026 season with a highly unexpected flourish after starting off with last pace Little League numbers as a starting pitcher.  I’d advocated using him in the pen early in the season but David Stearns was apparently still clinging to his flashback memory about what kind of a pitcher closer Devin Williams was when both were in Milwaukee and actually attempted to win baseball games rather than getting crowned for who in the front office has the biggest ego and can’t admit when he was wrong.

The long overdue switch to closer happened more out of necessity than the attempt to win games.  When Williams hit the IL with a shoulder strain in his pitching arm the Mets were in desperate need of someone to finish games for them in is place.  Senga was tapped for this role and was surprisingly effective most of the time. With shorter outings than he had as a starter he was able to allow his velocity to creep up a bit. Coupled with his ghost fork, he turned himself into a highly credible reliever when the team needed it most.

Fast forward to the spectator seats during the off season and the Mets must make a decision moving forward about Senga.  Williams is theoretically healthy and on the books not only for 2027 but for 2028 as well at an annual rate of $17 million.  With that kind of pay he’s not likely to be the setup guy despite two consecutive subpar season in the Bronx and in Queens. 

By contrast, Kodai Senga has just one season left at $15 million as his 5-year $75 million deal  draws to a close after the 2027 season.  Given the short term debt his deal would require  for a potential trade partner it may indeed be possible to find a team either in need of a closer or who think they can return him into becoming the dominating starter he once was.  The return on such a deal should not be throwaway players but the combination of Senga’s injury history and his erratic starting pitching performance for the past two years might mitigate the level of return you could expect. 

The other relatively strong return candidate would be catcher Francisco Alvarez.  I’ve already profiled that he is a much surer guy to sit behind the dish than anyone else in the system ready to play in the majors but here’s no denying that a power hitting young catcher would indeed generate a decent trade return.  The issue here is the vacancy his departure would create.

The other trade candidates the Mets have are maddeningly inconsistent and worth very little in deals.  Think Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Tylor Megill, Tobias Myers and other similar less desirable choices for other teams. 

Finally there are the expensive deals that are rather difficult to move without paying down significantly or taking back an equally undesirable deal in return.  Here you would find Marcus Semien, Sean Manaea and Jorge Polanco. 

Now it is possible that some of the unproven minor leaguers could sweeten some trade offers but opposing teams can read analytical reports and smirk at the metrics they contain.  You’re not going to get first class goods for a Ryan Clifford type but he might appeal to another team as a longshot wildcard prospect in a package deal.