A 2026 Mets trade deadline primer

By admin — In News — July 15, 2026

   ​The Mets are bad. The trade deadline approaches: Monday, August 3 at 6 PM EDT. That means it’s time to do an inventory of what the Mets have to move and what they might get for those pieces.Relief pitchers on one-year contracts are perhaps the most obvious pieces for a deadline seller to move, and the Mets have a couple good lefty options here. Brooks Raley has a 2.04 ERA over 35.1 innings this season, though his peripherals (3.62 xERA, 15.5% K-BB%) are a bit less favorable. A.J. Minter has been even more effective in his 19 innings, with a 1.42 ERA and peripherals that largely match.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNeither of these guys quite break through into the top tier of arms, but a return similar to what Ryan Helsley fetched last season for the Cardinals—INF Jesus Baez, RHP Nate Dohm, and RHP Frank Elissal—is within the realm of possibility. Something a bit lighter given Helsley’s potentially elite upside (at least at the time of the trade) is more likely, but the Mets should definitely be walking away with a handful of interesting prospects out of both of these deals.Potential Buyers: Cubs, Twins, Astros, Pirates, MarinersThis is perhaps a bit more painful, but a selling team should also consider moving any relievers they have under contract (including those under team control). Could these guys help the 2027 Mets? Absolutely. But year-to-year reliever performance is mercurial, and selling high gets the Mets future value while also potentially setting them up to duck the highest level of tax penalties in 2027.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHuascar Brazobán is the first name to consider here who, despite lacking high-end swing-and-miss stuff, has a 2.76 ERA backed by a 2.90 xERA on the season. Brazobán is a credible opener, middle reliever, or even a 7th inning guy. He’s also under team control until 2030, but he’s already 36, which mutes the value somewhat. Expect a modest return but one that should be better than what the Mets gave up in 2024 (infield prospect Wilfredo Lara).Luke Weaver is possibly the best reliever likely to be available at this deadline, as one of the 10-20 best bullpen arms this season. He’s also signed for a very reasonable $12.5 million in 2027, giving whatever team acquires him two bites at the apple. This is a guy the Mets are hopefully getting a top-100 level prospect for—again, not a Jhoan Duran or Mason Miller level return, both of whom are better and had more control, but something better than the previously mentioned Ryan Helsley return from 2025.Finally, there’s Devin Williams, who is the least likely arm to be moved here. He’s signed for an additional two years and $30 million beyond this season and has a 4.83 ERA on the season, along with three blown saves. That’s not great, but maybe a team looks at his solid peripherals and chooses to buy low, similar to what the Braves did in acquiring Raisel Iglesias from the Angels in 2022. It seems unlikely that there’s a seri  

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