The Mets already spent the 2026 season as trade deadline sellers, and the offseason could bring another round of roster churn. Juan Soto is staying put, and while there has been chatter about Francisco Lindor as a possible trade candidate, that noise does not look especially likely to go anywhere.
The more obvious name to watch is Mark Vientos.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand pointed to the struggling infielder as a possible trade chip, even with the possibility that the Mets simply non-tender him. Feinsand wrote, "It's possible that the Mets could non-tender Vientos, though his price tag should be low enough as he enters his first year of arbitration that he could draw trade interest."
That low price tag is really the only thing working in Vientos’ favor. His 2026 season has been a mess, and the numbers back it up.
He has a -1.0 bWAR, the worst mark of his professional career by a wide margin. After posting 3.1 bWAR in 2024, he has fallen off hard and now sits among the least effective infielders in the game.
Vientos will be 27 when the 2027 season starts, and he’ll be in his first year of arbitration. That makes him a tricky player to value, but it also gives the Mets a possible opening. A team in need of a cheap bounce-back bet might be willing to take a chance.
Rebuilding clubs such as the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, and Kansas City Royals could make sense as landing spots. At the same time, contenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays could also be interested in taking a low-risk shot.
None of that means the Mets are positioned to get much back. Any return for Vientos would likely be modest, and New York would be fortunate to land anything meaningful. Still, with three years of club control left and a likely inexpensive 2027 contract, he is one of the few players on the roster who could realistically be moved this offseason.
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