The Tarik Skubal deal has already changed the temperature around the Mets’ pitching market, and not in a way that helps them. If New York is trying to move Clay Holmes or Freddy Peralta, the bar now looks different after the Dodgers landed Skubal for a return that feels lighter than expected.
Los Angeles gave up Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith for Skubal, and that package is the kind of return that leaves plenty of people wondering whether more was supposed to be coming back in the deal. Hope is the headliner, a 21-year-old having a big year in Double-A.
Ryan is less appealing because of his age and isn’t pitching well in Triple-A. Smith, a third-round pick who is already 21 and not highly ranked in the system, has also struggled this year and could fade quickly if he doesn’t have a strong 2027.
That’s the backdrop for the Mets, who are trying to squeeze the most possible value out of Holmes and Peralta. With Skubal off the board, other teams may feel pressure to raise their offers before they get boxed out entirely. But even that might not be enough to satisfy New York if the market now takes its cue from a deal this modest.
The notion of the Mets demanding a top 100 prospect for Peralta already sounds shaky, and this trade only makes it harder to imagine. Two prospects, and just one that clearly fits the bill, were enough for Skubal. As much as those lists matter, or don’t, the reality is that the Mets may have to stop looking for anyone on a top 100 board and settle for the player sitting just outside it.
There is still room for a deal to feel worthwhile without that kind of name recognition. A prospect like Tampa Bay Rays infield prospect Cooper Flemming, who is listed at 100 by MLB Pipeline, carries a different kind of value than the unknown player who might be sitting at 101. That distinction may be small on paper, but in a trade, it changes the perception.
The Dodgers’ win in the Skubal sweepstakes may have done more than land them an ace. It may have made life tougher for the Mets, too. And if New York wants the kind of return that makes sense in public opinion, the seller’s path seems pretty clear: quality and quantity, together.
Only a few years ago, in 2022, the Mets had the 27th-ranked prospect in baseball in Brett Baty. The point is simple enough.
Prospect rankings can flatter some names and bury others, and plenty of players on those lists never turn into much at all. MJ Melendez was 51st, Ronny Mauricio was 78th, and Vidal Brujan was right in front of him at 77th.
So while the Dodgers may have won the Skubal chase, the Mets are still waiting to see whether someone gets nervous enough to make a reckless offer before August 3 at 6pm EST.
In Other News...
Mets Just Sent A Bigger Trade Deadline Message Than Fans Expected
The Mets continued to reshape their roster ahead of the trade deadline by moving reliever Huascar Brazobn, a pitcher who still had three seasons left on his contract, in a deal with the White Sox. In return, New York picked up two minor league arms, Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin, both prospects with limited major league experience.
It is the kind of swap that says plenty about where the club is headed right now. Brazobn had been part of the bullpen picture, but the Mets chose to turn a controllable arm into younger pitching depth as they keep working through deadline decisions, and the next moves will say even more about how aggressively they plan to retool. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Deadline Catching Move Could Signal Something Bigger
A catching swap at the deadline gave the Mets a little more pitching depth when they dealt Ben Rortvedt to the Dodgers for right-hander Chayce McDermott. Rortvedt had only briefly been back in the Dodgers organization, but the move fit a familiar pattern for Los Angeles, which has been forced to patch together its catching group because of injuries to Will Smith and Dalton Rushing.
For New York, the deal is notable not just for the arm coming back, but for what it says about how the front office viewed the rest of the market. Rortvedts value to the Dodgers was rooted in his familiarity with the club and the stability he provided during last years injury-hit stretch, and moving him now suggests the Mets were willing to turn a useful depth piece into a return they felt better matched their needs down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Deadline Purge Is Already Hitting Familiar Names
The Mets' deadline reshuffling has already started to put a familiar feel to the churn, with the front office turning over pieces and bringing in prospect capital as the trade market heats up across the league. New York sent Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays and moved Huascar Brazobn to the Chicago White Sox, part of a broader stretch of deadline activity that saw clubs around baseball making their own swaps and roster changes before the clock runs out.
On the roster side, the Mets also made room by promoting Robert Stock and Bryce Conley while designating Kevin Herget and MJ Melendez for assignment. For a team trying to thread the needle between present depth and future value, these are the kinds of decisions that can reshape the bullpen and the organizational picture in a hurry, even if the final ripple from this purge is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]