Luis Robert Jr. didn’t change teams at the trade deadline, and that might end up mattering for the Mets beyond this season.
New York shipped out several players, including Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes and Brooks Raley, but Robert stayed put despite plenty of movement elsewhere. His injuries played a big role in that, along with the $20 million still owed to him this season.
The Mets, though, didn’t sound eager to cut bait. After the deadline, David Stearns said the club was encouraged to see what Robert could do over the final stretch.
Andy Green has since made it clear Robert’s role is going to be meaningful in these last two months. He is expected to get regular run in center field, and Green also said Robert “might touch some corners” too, something he has not done in his career.
That matters because Robert has already shown the kind of power that can change a game. Since coming off the injured list in July, he has hit some big home runs, and he put together one of his best performances of the season Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robert went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in an 11-1 Mets win.
The bigger picture is where this gets interesting. On paper, the Mets’ 2027 outfield already looks crowded with Juan Soto, A.J.
Ewing, and Carson Benge. But baseball rarely stays neat for long, and all three of those outfielders hit left-handed.
That opens the door for a right-handed bat like Robert to make sense as a fourth outfielder who can still play enough to matter.
There’s also a defensive angle here. Some of the Mets’ best work in the field this season has come when Soto has been out with injury, letting Green line up Ewing, Robert, and Benge from left to right. If Robert can handle the corners down the stretch, that would give New York more ways to use him against tough lefties without taking a hit defensively.
The Mets also passed on bringing up Nick Morabito after moving Tyrone Taylor at the deadline, even though Morabito would have been the younger and cheaper option for that fourth outfield role. Letting him play every day in AAA could still be the smarter move, but it also means he’s getting less exposure to a potential 2027 role in New York.
Soto’s calf issues add another wrinkle. If the Mets decide they need to give him more DH days to keep him healthy, Robert becomes even more useful. He can help cover the outfield while still bringing real pop at the plate.
The money will decide a lot of this. Robert has a $20 million team option for 2027, plus a $2 million buyout, and it’s hard to see New York picking that up based on his current production. A shorter deal at a lower number could make more sense if the Mets want him back.
Robert’s injury history still hangs over everything, but if he finishes the season healthy and productive, he could work his way into the 2027 picture. The Mets are trying to get a better read on him now, and with not much to lose, that seems like the right gamble.
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One name that keeps coming up is Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan, whose profile fits the kind of search the Mets seem likely to make. An MLB writer pointed to Ryan as a possible fit, noting both his appeal and the Twins recent spending patterns as reasons his situation could warrant attention, which is the sort of setup that tends to put a pitcher squarely on a contenders radar. [Read more 🡒]
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The pressure, though, is already baked in because the return is being judged almost as soon as it lands. Franklins proximity gives the Mets a faster read on whether the deal can produce help, while Davis has a much longer road and will have to show real progress before this starts to feel like more than a depth gamble. The front office and everyone else watching this club know the window for calling it a win is not endless, with the deadline haul expected to justify itself before the end of 2026. [Read more 🡒]
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One name that fits the Mets general appetite for talent is Kris Bubic, a left-hander who would add intrigue to their long-range plans. The appeal is obvious enough, but so is the uncertainty, since his health situation makes the timing murky and leaves the club with a familiar question: how much patience are they willing to buy into while shaping a rotation that is supposed to hold up down the line? [Read more 🡒]