NEW YORK - With the Aug. 3 trade deadline closing in, the Mets are making their stance hard to miss: they’re open to moving pieces and looking ahead.
That was the tone David Stearns set before Friday night’s series opener against the Dodgers at Citi Field. The Mets president of baseball operations met with the media and laid out a flexible approach to the deadline, one that keeps the future front and center.
"We've been very clear, Steve's been very clear that we expect to compete in 2027," Stearns said. "We have to keep that in mind. We also have to make moves that we believe are right for the organizations, and so we're sitting here nine, 10 days out from the deadline and we're not going to close any paths down right now."
That backdrop hangs over a three-game set that puts the Mets in the path of the best team in baseball. The Dodgers arrive at 65-38, the two-time defending World Series champions and a club that’s clearly positioned to add before the deadline as it pushes for a third straight title.
The Mets, at 43-60, are in a very different place. Friday night’s opener at 7:10 p.m. is one of the last chances to see this group as currently assembled.
Sean Manaea gets the ball for New York in his eighth start of the season. He comes in at 2-5 with a 4.74 ERA and is making his second outing since the All-Star break.
The Dodgers will start Roki Sasaki, who enters at 3-5 with a 4.98 ERA across 17 starts.
The game is set for 7:10 p.m. and will air on WPIX, with streaming available on MLB.TV.
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