The Mets keep showing up in trade chatter as deadline season heats up, and Jim Bowden’s latest exercise at The Athletic put four New York arms and bats in some unexpected places.
Bowden set out to identify one fit for each perceived buyer, and the Mets names he landed on were Luke Weaver to the Baltimore Orioles, Brooks Raley to the Minnesota Twins, Luis Robert Jr. to the Detroit Tigers, and Huascar Brazoban to the Texas Rangers.
Not all of those pairings feel equally natural, but they do tell the same story: the Mets have pieces that could be moved, and Bowden is trying to line them up with clubs that might actually act before the August 3 trade deadline.
Weaver to Baltimore stands out first because of the role. Bowden has him stepping into the closer job after Ryan Helsley landed on the 60-day IL.
The Orioles are still below .500, but they’ve crept into the edge of AL Wild Card relevance. Weaver would help them, though the fit may be even stronger elsewhere.
The Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates were mentioned as teams that could put together a bigger offer.
Raley and the Twins follow a similar script. Minnesota is in a position where it almost has to keep trying in a wide-open American League, and Raley could be a relatively affordable bullpen upgrade.
Taylor Rogers has been their most-used lefty, and his 5.45 ERA leaves room for help. The downside is obvious: this could be a move for a team that buys and still falls short.
Robert to Detroit is the loudest name of the bunch. If the Tigers decide to go for it, he would immediately improve center field, especially with Matt Vierling sitting at .209 with a -0.8 bWAR this season.
Bowden also notes the odd possibility that Tarik Skubal stays in Detroit, which would be the strangest turn at the deadline. The Tigers’ next few days may decide whether they buy or sell, and Bowden points out that they sold in 2024 and still made the playoffs.
With 83 wins potentially enough to get in, this could be the year to lean into a strong finish.
Brazoban to Texas rounds out the list, and that one makes sense on versatility alone. He’s a reliever who can give a team two innings at a time, and the Rangers’ two most-used relievers are lefties. For a 51-51 club, that kind of arm has value now and, if they miss the postseason, for a few more years after that.
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