The trade deadline came and went, and the Mets moved plenty of pieces. But the real conversation is about the players they kept - and whether a few of them should have been sent out the door, too.
Luis Robert Jr. stands out as the one the Mets most clearly should have moved on from. He’s on a team option for next year, and once the Mets get their shot at that, he’s as good as gone.
But he wasn’t the only name that belonged in the “should have been traded” conversation. Jared Young, Daniel Duarte and Kodai Senga all make the list for different reasons.
Young has been useful, no doubt about it. He can handle first base, cover the corner outfield and even fill in at third in a pinch.
At the plate, he’s hitting .249 with a .749 OPS this season, which has made him the club’s top option at first base. Still, that doesn’t mean the Mets should mistake him for a true big league starter.
He looks more like a depth piece than anything else, and the longer this goes on, the clearer that becomes. If Luke Weaver wasn’t good enough to stay in next year’s plan, then why is Young?
He feels like a limited bench player, and that’s where the discussion starts and ends.
Duarte presents a different kind of case. He didn’t allow a run until his most recent outing, and as a ground-ball pitcher, he probably had at least some appeal on the market, even if the return would have been modest.
The Mets didn’t have to move him, but with no minor league options left, there’s no guarantee he’s even on the roster by Opening Day. One rough spring - or whatever they end up calling it if the season is delayed - could change everything.
Then there’s Senga, who was the most surprising name tied to deadline rumors. The chatter linking him to the San Diego Padres apparently never got beyond a “check in,” but that was enough to raise eyebrows.
At that point, David Stearns shouldn’t have let AJ Preller hang up the phone. The Mets should be looking to sell Senga for whatever they can get.
His role is so unclear that it barely feels defined at all. To be fair, Stearns deserves a little grace here because Senga is under contract through next year, and moving him would almost certainly have involved money.
Still, if the Mets were willing to cover part of Weaver’s deal this year and next, it’s fair to ask whether they should have been willing to do the same just to get Senga off the books.
In Other News...
Brewers Let A Former Infield Prospect Find His Shot Elsewhere
Eddys Leonards path through Milwaukees system ended with a familiar kind of frustration for a player stuck behind a crowded big league roster. The former Brewers minor league infielder had been using contract clauses to chase a clearer route to major league playing time, and after the Brewers released him, the San Francisco Giants gave him that opening. His appeal was easy to see from the start: he can move around the infield and bring some real pop to the lineup.
What makes Leonards move stand out is how quickly a fresh opportunity turned into a real one. Once he landed with San Francisco, the Giants brought him up and gave him his first taste of the majors, a reminder that a player can spend years looking blocked in one organization and still find a way through somewhere else. For Milwaukee, it is another example of how roster depth can squeeze out a useful talent before he ever gets a chance to matter in the big leagues. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Depth Pieces Are Suddenly Worth Watching In The Farm System
The Brewers farm system had another busy night, with roster shuffling in Nashville adding a little more intrigue to the clubs depth picture. Milwaukee sent right-hander Grant Anderson to the Sounds, while Nashville brought shortstop Eric Brown Jr. back from the 7-day injured list, a reminder that even the upper levels of the system can change quickly as the major league club keeps sorting out its options.
On the field, Nashville also had the kind of game that leaves a mark, rallying late only to see Memphis answer with a walk-off in the ninth inning. Other affiliates, including Biloxi, Wisconsin and Wilson, were in action too, with a mix of player performances and pitching updates that gave the Brewers more to monitor across the board. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Pitching Depth Just Got Squeezed Even Tighter
The Brewers kept churning their pitching mix this week, outrighting Carlos Rodriguez and Thomas Pannone to Triple-A Nashville after both had recently been designated for assignment. It was the latest roster squeeze created by Milwaukees addition of new arms, a reminder of how quickly the back end of a staff can get crowded when the front office is trying to keep options open.
Pannone now has the right to elect free agency, while Rodriguez has to decide whether to accept the assignment and remain in the organization. For a Brewers team that leans hard on depth and flexibility, moves like this are part of the business, but they also leave a few more questions about who fits where once the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]