The Mets may be headed toward a sell-off before the August 3 trade deadline, but there’s still a path to a move that would make them look like they came out ahead anyway.
The logic is simple enough: anything not tied to 2027 should be on the table. That’s the mission right now.
Still, there’s been plenty of chatter that New York could also dip into the buying side, even while trimming elsewhere. That kind of move isn’t common, but it has happened before.
In 2017, when the Mets were moving veterans on expiring deals, they also brought in AJ Ramos from the Miami Marlins. It didn’t pay off, but it was still a legitimate swing.
This time, the name that keeps coming up is a starting pitcher from the Los Angeles Angels. Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano are both controllable and talented, which is exactly why they’d fit what the Mets need. ESPN floated the idea of New York landing one of them, or even another starter, as part of the deadline work ahead.
That kind of deal would not come cheap. Detmers and Soriano would cost a lot, and a reasonable guess is that the Angels would ask for Francisco Alvarez.
That idea isn’t as wild as it sounds, especially with the Mets’ tendency to lean on Luis Torrens behind the plate. The usage patterns have sent mixed signals about whether Alvarez is truly off-limits.
Even so, a blockbuster between two teams in selling mode feels like a tough fit. Trading for a ready-made starter while also trying to move pieces out would be a bold, restrictive play. It’s a much different setup than the Ramos deal all those years ago.
ESPN also mentioned Seattle starters Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo. Castillo is available, but landing him would feel a lot like the Freddy Peralta chase all over again.
He wouldn’t come at a huge prospect cost, and Seattle would almost certainly have to absorb some salary. The real question is what the Mariners would want back to make that deal worthwhile for them.
Joe Ryan was another name on the list, though Minnesota is buying, not selling. And a few Yankees starters probably did a double-take when they saw their names included.
The idea of Alvarez or Torrens going to the Yankees for a young starter would light up the internet in a hurry. As for the Yankees sending a promising young player back for Torrens, that would amount to a pretty clear admission of defeat after all they got from the Mets in 2024 was cash.
For New York, adding a ready-made starter or even help at another spot would at least keep the fan base engaged through the rest of 2026. The club has already brought up Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, and more from Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton would give fans something to follow even if the season shifts into a more casual watch.
The biggest obstacle is obvious: the Mets don’t have a ton of premium trade pieces to work with if they want pitching for 2027 and beyond. The wildest version of this would be flipping one major league player, then using the return to land someone else. That would be the kind of move that really turns heads.
In Other News...
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Luis Torrens has drawn attention from clubs looking for catching help, even as the Mets appear reluctant to part with him, while Clay Holmes second rehab start is being watched as more than just a health checkpoint. Austin Warren has also begun a rehab assignment in St. Lucie, adding another layer to a week when every roster move seems to carry deadline implications. [Read more 🡒]
This Mets Deadline Gamble Became A Painful Bullpen Reminder
Back in the summer of 2017, the Mets made a deadline move for AJ Ramos as the roster was leaning more toward selling than adding, hoping the veteran reliever could steady a bullpen that needed help. The price was Ricardo Cespedes and Merandy Gonzalez, a reminder that even smaller deadline deals can carry long tails when a club is trying to thread the needle between the present and the future.
Ramos never gave the Mets much of the payoff they were chasing, and the move became one more cautionary tale from that stretch of roster churn. His time in New York ended after a rough 2018 run, and the two prospects sent out in the deal did not develop into meaningful big-league pieces, leaving the trade as a quiet but costly bullpen misfire in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]