The New York Mets are done pretending. Fifteen games under .500 and one of the five worst teams in Major League Baseball over the last calendar year, the Mets have quietly signaled to rival executives that they will be sellers at the August 3 trade deadline.
The headline name available is Freddy Peralta. The two-time All-Star right-hander, acquired by the Mets in an offseason move that has not aged well, is a rental with legitimate top-of-the-rotation stuff. Every contender should be calling on him.
Peralta has a fastball that plays up because of his cross-body delivery, and his slider has taken another step forward this year. He has been the Mets’ most consistent starter in a rotation that has otherwise disappointed. His trade value is high, and it should get higher every start he makes over the next month.
The Mets are also expected to move lefty relievers A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley. Both are veterans on expiring deals. Both are exactly the kind of high-leverage arms that contending teams overpay for at the deadline. Expect real prospect returns.
This is a strange position for the Mets. Ownership under Steve Cohen has consistently spent like a team trying to contend, but the on-field product has stubbornly refused to cooperate. The rotation collapsed. The bullpen has been unreliable. The offense outside of Juan Soto and Pete Alonso has been inconsistent.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has been given a mandate to reload the farm system while also keeping the major league team competitive. Those goals are in tension in July 2026. Selling Peralta helps the farm. It also hurts the win-now argument.
The internal question is whether to also move Alonso if the right offer comes. Alonso is on an expiring deal and has been the subject of persistent trade rumors for a year. The Mets would have to eat some contract to move him, but the return could be significant given his power profile.
For contenders, the Mets are the most interesting seller on the board outside of Detroit and Cincinnati. Rentals like Peralta go for high-end prospect packages this time of year. The Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, and Brewers should all be in on him.
The Mets are not blowing it up. Cohen has publicly committed to competing every year, and the farm system has real talent on the way. But 2026 is a lost season, and the front office has correctly decided that flipping veterans for future assets is the smart play.
Watch the market between now and August 3. Peralta is going somewhere. The bullpen arms are going somewhere. And the Mets, for the first time under Cohen, are going to try to win by losing today.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
