The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.
In January 1995, the women’s basketball showdown between No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 UConn on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was deemed so significant that The Associated Press’ weekly Top 25 poll was held an extra 24 hours. Why stick with the traditional Monday schedule, when so much more critical information would be available a day later?
So folks, This Week in Mets will drop here Tuesday morning this week. Why opine now when I’ll have so much more critical information soon enough?
In the meantime, here are four thoughts on the way the trade market is evolving and what that means for the New York Mets on Monday.
The Padres’ resurgence should bring a bigger return for Luke Weaver
With eight wins in their last nine games, the San Diego Padres have moved back within a game of the final playoff spot in the National League. That almost certainly means Mason Miller is staying put in the back end of the Padres bullpen, and that likely means Adrian Morejon will remain Miller’s primary set-up man.
Which might very well leave Luke Weaver as the best reliever available at the deadline.
Already this month, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros have surged back into playoff position, removing Aroldis Chapman and Josh Hader from the market. The Baltimore Orioles have extended Yennier Cano, one of the other relievers on our latest Trade Deadline Big Board.
If you’re a team looking for a lockdown late-game reliever at this deadline, be it a closer or a set-up man, Weaver could be at the top of your list.
Now, the Mets still don’t have to trade Weaver, given he’s signed for $11 million next season. But the chances of New York’s receiving an offer that makes it worth moving him have gone up in the past week.
Andy McCullough helps you process the Skubal trade
Andy McCullough
The Kevin Gausman trade makes the Mets’ return for Freddy Peralta look better
Distinguishing between Kevin Gausman and Freddy Peralta as rental starters was one of the hardest individual choices on our Big Board rankings. Both have been very good for a long time. Both are in the midst of down seasons. Both look capable of rebounding.
And so it was a surprise to see the return for one pretty clearly outpace the return for the other. The Mets received three players from the Tampa Bay Rays as opposed to the two the Toronto Blue Jays got back from the Chicago Cubs for Gausman, and my early read is New York brought in the most intriguing of those five prospects in Émilien Pitre.
The return for Peralta didn’t quite match my expectations from 10 days ago, when I suggested a fringe top-100 prospect. But the Gausman return fell well short of my suggestion of two prospects just outside the top 100.
The returns for rental starters temper expectations for Clay Holmes
That’s the good news. The bad news is neither of those returns points to the Mets’ bringing in a huge haul for Holmes.
Making one more rehab start for High-A Brooklyn on Sunday, Holmes worked into the sixth inning, allowing four runs (three earned) and striking out three. The right-hander wanted to stay on track with his rehab, and interim manager Andy Green said his next start should be in the major leagues. (Green declined to say whose uniform Holmes will wear for it.)
With Gausman, Peralta and, of course, Tarik Skubal off the board, Holmes is in a group with the Detroit Tigers’ Casey Mize and Washington Nationals’ Foster Griffin as the best available rental starter (ahead of Shane Bieber, Dustin May, Trevor Rogers and Robbie Ray). How big a return those guys can muster is also dependent on what the Los Angeles Angels do with their two controllable starters, José Soriano and Reid Detmers.
The right-handed bat market hasn’t budged
The Atlanta Braves added Lane Thomas from the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Other than that, the market is still waiting for the demand for right-handed bats to translate into action. The Orioles’ Taylor Ward looks to be the key name there. Once Ward comes off the board — or the O’s decide they’re going to keep him — secondary and perhaps tertiary options such as Luis Robert Jr. and Tyrone Taylor might be waiting.
