Grading the Mets' 2026 MLB Trade Deadline
· Yahoo Sports
In what one scout called “a straightforward deadline for a seller,” the Mets emptied out their bullpen and traded just about all of their expiring contracts, while bringing back a slew of minor-leaguers that only the most hard-core prospect aficionados surely had ever heard of before the last few days.
In that sense, it will almost certainly take a few years to get a true picture of what kind of a trade deadline David Stearns had here.
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All we know for sure is that the selling was necessary because so many of his choices in the off-season failed, resulting in this disaster of a season.
Whether this is the start of rebuilding his reputation, then, remains to be seen. Fans likely wanted more high-profile prospects in return, as Jefferson Rojas was the only player on any of the various Top 100 lists, but such rankings aren’t always a true indicator in judging deals, and scouts I talked to had a favorable view of at least the more notable trades.
Still, as Rojas looks to be the only player acquired who could make an impact in Queens next season, one thing stood out after all the wheeling and dealing: if the Mets are going to contend in 2027, as they say is their intent, they will have a ton of work to do this winter, especially in rebuilding virtually an entire bullpen.
In that sense, it seems fair to ask if Stearns could have been more creative, something a team like the Toronto Blue Jays showed was possible, buying as well as selling on Monday.
A similar approach by the Mets might have brought back more talent that could have helped in 2027. Still, scouts said the most important task for a seller was simply getting the best talent in return.
With all of that in mind…
OVERALL GRADE: B –
Here are the grades for the individual trades.
Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor to the Chicago Cubs for minor league infielder Jefferson Rojas
Rojas was by far the highest-profile prospect the Mets acquired, the only one ranked in the various Top 100 lists. The 21-year-old ranked 63rd in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, though lower on other lists, and projects as an impact hitter in the big leagues.
“He’s always been an advanced hitter with natural ability to recognize spin and hit strikes,” one MLB scout told me. “He gets the barrel to the ball naturally too. With those skills there’s a lot of room for growth, considering he was pretty young for Double-A this year.”
Rojas was hitting .270 in AA with 15 home runs, as well as 19 doubles, adding up to a .466 slugging percentage and a .799 OPS. He also had 17 stolen bases, with five caught stealings, though scouts say he only has average speed.
“His instincts make him a good baserunner more than his speed,” said one scout.
He’s played mostly shortstop, with his defense considered average as well, and scouts saying he’s more likely to wind up at 2B or 3B as a major leaguer.
All in all, with Holmes having a buyout and Taylor on an expiring contract, Rojas was a solid get for the Mets.
“I wouldn’t call it a ‘wow’ type of move or anything like that,” said another scout, “but the Mets got a kid who you could see being a good big-league hitter several years, and he’s advanced enough that he should get there by sometime next year.”
GRADE: B +Luke Weaver to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league shortstop Sammy Stafura
From a Mets’ point of view, this was the trade well-received by scouts. Stafura, a 21-year-old shortstop from Cortland, NY, was the No. 9-ranked prospect in the Pirates farm system via MLB Pipeline, but two scouts I spoke to said his ceiling makes him a borderline blue-chipper.
“He has legit pop with the bat, and smooth actions defensively that should allow him to stay at shortstop,” said one scout. “He has the potential for high impact.”
“Even with a lot of swing and miss, he’s hitting .300 (.301) in High-A,” said a second scout, “and he’s young enough that he could grow into a better overall hitter to go with the power he’s shown.”
Since being promoted to High-A earlier this season, Stafura is slugging .656 with a 1.021 OPS and 19 home runs in 47 games.
The obvious knock on the deal, meanwhile, is that if the Mets intend to contend in ’27, as they are saying, Stafura almost certainly needs another season in the minors.
In addition, the Mets are paying $8 million of the remainder of Weaver’s contract, including $6 million next season, and considering there were other pursuers who likely would have taken on the entire contract, it’s an indication they identified Stafura as the prospect they really wanted.
GRADE: B+
Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays for three minor leaguers: OF Aidan Smith, RHP Gary Gill Hill, and 2B Emilien Pitre
No high-ceiling or highly-ranked prospects in this trade, and yet the reaction among scouts from a Mets’ point of view was generally favorable, as they noted how much Peralta value had fallen with his poor season.
“The Rays obviously feel they can fix him,” one scout said. “And they’re very good at that, so they gave up a couple of guys with potential.”
Former Toronto Blue Jays’ executive Keith Law, now a prospect analyst for The Athletic, wrote that “the Mets wound up doing better than I would have guessed.”
The key prospect in the deal is Pitre, a 23-year-old second baseman and former 2nd-round draft choice out of the University of Kentucky in 2024.
“Good contact hitter with great plate discipline,” said a scout. “Hits the ball on the ground more than you’d like, but if he learns to get the ball in the air, he has a chance to be their regular second baseman at some point.”
Pitre’s numbers speak to that high-contact tool: for the season, High-A and Double-A, he’s hitting .308 with a .438 on-base percentage and 28 extra-base hits that translate to a .447 slugging percentage.
Also, Law noted that with 70 walks and only 40 strikeouts this season, Pitre has the highest walk-to-strikeout rate of any player in the minors with at least 200 at-bats.
Hill, at 21, is said to have “a good feel” for pitching and an above-average slider, but his fastball gets hit hard “more than you’d like to see,” said one scout. The consensus is that “with some growth” his ceiling is as a back-end starter in the big leagues.
Smith, at 22, was a highly-regarded prospect who “has gone backwards” over the last couple of seasons, and has had a rough season repeating High-A this year.
GRADE: C +
Brooks Raley to the Philadelphia Phillies for two minor leaguers, OF John Spikerman and RHP Luke Gabrysh
Raley was the top left-handed reliever traded at the deadline, which makes this return for the Mets feel light.
Gabrysh was likely the more targeted player, a 23-year-old former who gets a lot of swings and misses with both his fastball and a couple of different breaking balls, as evidenced by his 89 K’s in 61 innings in high A-ball this season. That type of stuff is more significant, at least in projecting his future, than his 5.14 ERA, though the 34 walks are clearly an issue.
“This is the definition of a lottery ticket guy,” one scout told me. “You can dream on him because if he ever develops command, the stuff will play at the highest level. But he’s miles from there right now.”
Spikerman, meanwhile, feels like a bit of a throw-in as a 23-year-old outfielder in High-A who plays good defense in center field, has a great eye/plate discipline that translates to a .419 on-base percentage, but has no power _ as in zero home runs this season.
GRADE: C –
Huascar Brazobán to the Chicago White Sox for two minor leaguers, RHP Gabe Davis and RHP Zach Franklin
Brazobán is having an outstanding season, and has three more years of contractual control, so even though he’s going to be 37 in October, it’s fair to ask if this trade was really necessary, unless the Mets are really looking past 2027 as a year to contend.
That said, the 22-year-old Davis has a high ceiling as a starter with a 96-98 mph fastball and what a scout called “an outstanding curveball,” but he has underperformed as a minor leaguer, pitching to a 6.82 ERA in High-A and Double-A this season.
He was a fifth-round draft choice out of Oklahoma State, where he played with Carson Benge and Nolan McLean, but one scout told me, “At one point in college he was projected as a first-round pick, but he didn’t throw enough strikes and wound up in the bullpen (at Oklahoma State). You can still see that potential at times but, he doesn’t command his stuff consistently. It’s a leap of faith on the Mets’ part.”
Franklin, meanwhile, is a 27-year-old reliever who has a 4.57 ERA in Triple-A this season and is projected to be a journeyman reliever at best in the big leagues.
GRADE: C –
A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins for two minor leaguers, 1B/3B Billy Amick and 2B Bruin Agbayani
Amick was the 21st-ranked Twins’ prospect, via MLB Pipeline, a corner infielder with enough power to interest the Mets. Agbayani, son of former Met Benny Agbayani, is a middle infielder who was the 27th-ranked Twins’ prospect.
Minter is a rental, not expected have great trade value, and as such the return was what one scout called “about what you’d expect. Amick’s power is worth taking a flyer on, but neither guy is very projectable (as major leaguers).”
GRADE: C