The Mets’ 2022 deadline haul looks a lot different with time on it, and not in a flattering way. New York finished 101-61 and still closed the year with a sense of letdown, because the midseason moves meant to patch holes instead ended up exposing how important those decisions can be.
That’s the backdrop for looking ahead, too. In 2026, a Mets club with the talent to contend could be in the same spot, dealing away expiring contracts and even some controllable players in hopes of landing prospects who can change the direction of the organization. The question hanging over it all: Will David Stearns somehow screw this up?
One way to judge that kind of deadline is to revisit the past and see which moves helped in the moment, which ones aged badly, and what became of the players shipped out. The 2022 slate offers plenty to chew on.
Daniel Vogelbach arrived to solve the Mets’ DH problem, and for a while he did exactly that. Through 55 games that season, he hit .255 with an .830 OPS, along with six homers and 25 RBIs. He later came back to Queens in 2023, played in 104 games, and finished with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs while batting .233 before a quiet exit.
Colin Holderman was one of the bullpen pieces the Mets moved on from, and at the time he was a promising low-leverage arm. He spent four seasons in Pittsburgh, where he logged a 4.39 ERA across 146 appearances. By 2026, Holderman had moved on to the Guardians and was thriving there, posting a 1.91 ERA in 38 appearances and looking like a dependable piece in a potential playoff bullpen.
Then there’s Darin Ruf, a trade that still gets mentioned for all the wrong reasons. His run with the Mets was a mess from start to finish: a -1 WAR in just 28 games, a .152 average, and 16 strikeouts. By March of 2023, the Mets had released him after he kept struggling in spring training.
Ruf was supposed to be a right-handed DH answer, which only made the deal feel stranger when JD Davis was right there. Davis, after going to the Giants, hit .263 with an .857 OPS, adding eight homers and 14 RBIs. The three young pitchers included in that package never turned into anything, leaving the trade looking like a head-scratcher four years later.
Tyler Naquin fit the “random Mets” mold perfectly. He was brought in as a platoon option and played in 49 games, batting .203 with a .636 OPS and producing -0.4 WAR. The cost, though, makes the deal sting far more than the stat line.
The prospect sent to Cincinnati, Hector Rodríguez, is now the Reds’ No. 4 prospect and has climbed quickly at 22 years old. This season, he’s hitting .278 in 95 games with 24 home runs, 62 RBIs, and an .891 OPS.
Michael Perez was the rare deadline move that looks like an easy win, simply because the Mets gave up cash considerations to get him. He was brought in for emergency catching depth behind James McCann, who played in just six games for New York and finished with two hits and three RBIs.
The Mets also went back to the Cubs a year after the Peter Crow-Armstrong deal, this time landing Mychal Givens. That move never really worked on the field. Givens posted a 4.79 ERA in 19 games, allowed 24 hits, and even appeared in one of the team’s three playoff games, throwing 2.2 innings and giving up two runs.
Still, the return doesn’t leave much room to hammer the deal on the prospect side. The Mets sent unranked pitching prospect Saúl González to Chicago, and he never made a mark in the Cubs organization.
In Other News...
Mets Just Got A Harsh Reality Check On Holmes And Peralta
The market for pitching just got another reminder of how hard it is to cash in at the deadline, and the Mets are watching closely. With New York trying to line up meaningful returns for Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta, the recent Tarik Skubal trade to the Dodgers offered a useful comparison point for how clubs are valuing arms and prospects right now.
For the Mets, the lesson is less about one deal than about what it says for their own talks. They can ask for premium talent in return, but the threshold for landing a top prospect is steep, and that reality shapes everything from who they dangle to how long they can hold out. If they want the kind of impact package they have in mind, they may have to navigate a market that is already signaling just how limited the pool really is. [Read more 🡒]
Kodai Senga Just Gave The Mets A Tough Deadline Decision
Kodai Senga has become one of the more interesting names hanging over the Mets as the trade deadline approaches, and not just because of the way this season has gone. The right-hander has struggled through an 0-8 start with an 8.66 ERA, while New York is widely expected to move several veterans before the deadline and reshape the roster around what comes next.
San Diego has already inquired about Sengas availability, adding another layer to a decision the Mets have to weigh carefully. Even with the rough numbers attached to this year, Senga is not a simple rental piece, and any talks would have to account for the fact that he remains part of the clubs plans beyond this season, which makes the price and timing of a deal far less straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Trade Leverage Just Changed For Clay Holmes And Freddy Peralta
Tarik Skubal landing with the Dodgers has shifted the starting-pitching market in a hurry, and the ripple effects reach all the way back to Queens. With one of the biggest arms moved, demand for available starters has only intensified, putting extra attention on Mets pitchers Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta as the deadline approaches. New York is in position to benefit if other clubs get more aggressive, especially with a limited supply of impact arms available.
Holmes is working his way back from an injury and is scheduled for a rehab start, while Peralta was recently pulled from a start as teams looked to protect his health amid the trade buzz. Both are expected to move before the deadline, and the Mets are clearly in no rush to settle for a modest return. The market just got a little louder, and that could matter a lot for how the next few days unfold. [Read more 🡒]