As the trade deadline approaches, let’s revisit last year’s deadline maneuvers…
Cedric Mullins (OF) Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles. Played in 42 games, batted .182 with 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 SB and played a horrible centerfield.
Gregory Soto (L RP) Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a separate deal. Made 25 appearances, throwing 24 innings, finished with a record of 1-3, no saves, and pitched to a 4.50 ERA and a WHIP of 1.625.
Ryan Helsley (R RP) Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals. Made appearances 22, throwing 20 innings, finished with a record of 0-3, no saves, and pitched to a 7.20 ERA and WHIP of 1.800.
Tyler Rogers (L RP) Acquired from the San Francisco Giants. Made 28 appearances, throwing 27 1/3 innings, finished with a record of 0-3, no saves, and pitched to a 2.30 ERA and WHIP of 1.098.
The acquisitions made to right the sinking ship did nothing to plug the holes. Rogers actually pitched well and didn’t really deserve the 0-3 record he was forced to suffer. However, the rest were just plain awful.
And none of them remained with the Mets after the season was over. There was some interest in Rogers, but he made the better decision to head north to Toronto where he is having a pretty good 2026 season.
And then let’s take a look at the off-season comings and goings…
Gone…
Pete Alonso (1B) Allowed to leave via free agency and signed with the Baltimore Orioles. After a slow start, Alonso is hitting .246 with 21 HR and 66 RBI, and playing a pretty good first base for the Orioles.
Brandon Nimmo (OF) Traded to the Texas Rangers. Nimmo is having a season typical of his last few years, batting .260 (his OBP is at .329 – similar to 2024 and 2025), with 9 HR, 37 RBI, and 38 Runs Scored.
Jeff McNeil (OF-IF) Traded to the Sacramento Athletics. McNeil is actually having his worst season, batting .236, with an OBP of .300, 3 HR and 30 RBI.
Edwin Diaz (R RP) Allowed to leave via free agency and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Appeared in 7 games and was obviously hurt…although he went 1-0 with 4 saves, he was pitching to an ERA of 10.50 and a WHIP of 2.333 before the Dodgers shut him down.
Here…
Jorge Polanco (1B) Signed via free agency to play first base. Has only appeared in 21 games and is batting .173 with 1 HR and 4 RBI in 81 at bats.
Louis Robert, Jr. (CF) Acquired in trade with the Chicago White Sox. Has only appeared in 25 games and is batting .213 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in 89 at bats. And the once brilliant centerfielder looks lost. Just like Cedric Mullins in 2025.
Marcus Semien (2B) Acquired in trade with the Texas Rangers (for Nimmo). Has appeared in 82 games and is batting .207 with 9 HR and 29 RBI. While his defense hasn’t been awful, it hasn’t been great either. His best days are clearly behind him.
Freddie Peralta (R SP) Acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Peralta has had some good games, but he has also had some awful games. And the most glaring issue is that he has trouble getting past the 5th inning. He has started 21 games, tossing 109 innings (an average of 5 1/3 innings per start) and has gone 5-9 with an ERA of 5.01 and WHIP of 1.459
Bo Bichette (3B-SS) Signed via free agency to play third base. Has appeared in 100 games and, after a slow start, has shown signs of his usual production. He is hitting .256 (34 points below his career average) with 10 HR and 51 RBI. He has played a pretty decent third base and filled in admirably at shortstop during Francisco Lindor’s extensive absence.
None of the off-season acquisitions has made anyone forget about the loss of four fan favorites. Arguably, Diaz was hurt and McNeil had already been showing signs of decline. Alonso and Nimmo are having typical Alonso and Nimmo seasons. But regardless of what THEY are doing…the incoming personnel were bad decisions all around. Peralta can’t get through five innings unscathed; Robert, Jr. is showing that he is no longer what he was; Semien especially is showing that he is no longer what HE was; Polanco…who the hell knows what the thinking was with this guy – the Jed Lowrie of 2026? Bichette is the one guy who is actually playing and somewhat productive…somewhat. He is well below his normal output. But at least it’s SOMETHING. The rest? NOTHING.
So what exactly does the Mets front office expect to achieve at the 2026?
Of course unloading what you don’t want is always a good start.
But who is going to take Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert, Jr.? They have both been out with injuries for extended periods of time, so they are not reliable to get on the field, and certainly not reliable once they ARE on the field.
Marcus Semien could be a useful player for a contending team that needs to sure up its infield. But he has too much left on his contract to take that on.
Freddy Peralta would be a great gamble for a team that needs a bump in their starting rotation. And perhaps going into a winning environment would help him get back on track. And…his contract is over at the end of the season so if the Met REALLY want him and he REALLY wants the Mets, he could always re-sign with them in the off-season.
Bo Bichette would be a nice fit for the Mets…if he could stay at third base or even second base. But he just might opt out after the season. Or, he may want to opt IN and stick around to prove he is worth the money because he is not having the kind of season that would make anyone want to pay him what he is making now, let alone even more.
There’s been talk that teams may be very interested in the Mets catchers – Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens. That’s all well and good. But if you look at the Mets minor league system, the cupboard is bare when it comes to catchers. So it would be shocking to see Alvarez and even Torrens be sent packing anywhere.
The most appealing pieces the Mets have to sell off are members of the bullpen. And, ironically, the Mets bullpen has, for the most part, been the only good part of the season. But, alas, that is the biggest need of playoff teams…fresh arms for down the stretch. And the Mets have Brooks Raley, 38; Luke Weaver, 32; and Huascar Brazobán, 36.
All have performed well and have experience with post season play and pressure. So any team would find them appealing. But while the Mets would also need bullpen arms to be competitive next season, Raley and Brazobán are on the other side of 35 years old and who knows how much is left in the tank with all three of them. Relief pitchers are a crap shoot no matter what, so do you let them go when they have value or hold onto the most valuable pieces?
The question really is…do the Mets have any player that another team really wants at this point? I guess we’ll just wait and see.
