The Mets haven’t pulled the trigger on a full sell-off yet, but the trade market is already sitting there, waiting for one move to blow the whole thing open. If David Stearns starts handing out approvals, the teams that come calling with the biggest offers may be the ones feeling the most pressure to win right now.
And there are a few obvious fits where the Mets could push for a premium return.
Luke Weaver stands out as a natural target for the Chicago White Sox. They’re sitting in the middle of the AL Central race and still need a real shutdown closer.
Weaver may not be the guy finishing games for the 2026 Mets, but he can absolutely handle that job for someone else. Chicago has already outperformed expectations, so selling fans on a veteran arm for this season and next could make sense even if the price gets steep.
One possible framework: two major league players for one really good prospect.
The Philadelphia Phillies make sense for both A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley, and it’s hard to split them up because they bring so many of the same strengths.
Raley doesn’t have Minter’s name value, but he’s every bit as useful in high-leverage spots and against left-handed hitters. A deal with Philadelphia could bring the Mets their biggest return.
The Phillies have leaned on Tim Mayza and Jose Alvarado as their most-used lefty relievers, and that setup has plenty of room for improvement. Mayza works as a third lefty, maybe even second if you’re not picky about the role.
Alvarado, with an ERA over 6.00, has DFA written all over him.
Clay Holmes looks like a clean fit for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They’ve quietly worked their way into the playoff picture and have their eyes on a Wild Card spot.
Their starters have been dealing with home run trouble and a pile of injuries, which makes Holmes’ ground-ball ability especially attractive. He’s the kind of pitcher who fits just about anywhere, and he could even slide into a postseason closer role if there’s uncertainty around Paul Sewald.
Freddy Peralta to the Chicago Cubs has a little bit of poetry to it, even if the Brewers would never send him there. The Mets, though, wouldn’t have that same hesitation.
Chicago’s rotation has been underwhelming, though not to the point where Peralta has to be the answer to everything. He’s more the kind of arm that helps get you to October than the one that guarantees a title.
Still, if David Peterson can look this good with the Cubs, there’s reason to think they’d have some useful advice for Peralta, who has been better. His lifetime 4.18 ERA at Wrigley Field as a visitor doesn’t hurt either.
Luis Robert Jr. could be the answer for the Cleveland Guardians, who haven’t gotten the center-field production they wanted from Steven Kwan this season. Robert would give them the kind of jolt they need, and his contract shouldn’t scare them off the way it might some other clubs.
That said, it would be smart for Cleveland to ask the Mets to cover part of the salary, because anyone taking on Robert has to think about the health risk. The Guardians know him well enough already, and they’ve seen plenty of White Sox games without him.
In Other News...
Mets Under Fire After Loyal Season Ticket Holder Gets Pushed Aside
A longtime season ticket holder found himself displaced from his first-row right field spot at Citi Field as the Mets made room for a movie shoot during the series against the Dodgers. The production, for the upcoming baseball-romance film The Catch, brought extra Hollywood traffic to the ballpark and even had both teams in standard uniforms to keep the scenes looking right.
Emma Stone was seen in the dugout with Juan Soto during the filming, a reminder of how far the Mets were willing to go to accommodate the project. The move left a familiar seat occupied by someone else for the moment, and it added another layer to a week in which the ballpark felt as much like a set as a stadium. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Fans May Not Like Where Francisco Alvarez Trade Talk Is Going
The latest Francisco Alvarez chatter is the kind that makes Mets fans uneasy, because it starts with a simple baseball question and quickly turns into a bigger one about value. Alvarez has shown enough offense to keep his name in the conversation, but his defensive issues remain part of the equation, and recent trade talk has framed him as the sort of player who could draw a meaningful return if the Mets ever decided to listen.
Bostons deal for Curtis Mead from Washington, with Connelly Early going the other way, offers at least one benchmark for how clubs are valuing young talent right now, and it helps explain why Alvarez is being discussed in the first place. Seattle has been floated as one possible fit, and the Mets, if they ever went down this road, would be looking for a major leaguer back, likely on the mound or perhaps at third base, even as some around the game are already cooling the idea of an actual trade. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Free Agency Regret Looks Even Worse After Another Rival Win
Kazuma Okamotos first season after leaving Japan has become a useful reminder of how quickly a free-agent market can look upside down. The slugger landed a four-year, $60 million deal and has already given his new club the sort of middle-of-the-order production teams pay for, with power and run production carrying the profile even as the batting average and strikeout totals stay noisy.
For the Mets, the comparison is hard to ignore because the names ahead of Okamoto on their wish list have not delivered the way anyone expected. Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette were the big swings, the kind of targets that can shape an entire winter, but both have underwhelmed relative to their reputations and price tags, leaving another rival success story to sharpen the sense that the safer, less glamorous path might have been the better one. [Read more 🡒]