The Mets are open to trading redundant pieces from the roster

Plus, should the Mets really be trading from their group of big prospects right now?

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets are open to trading Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña and Mark Vientos and have discussed trades for Kodai Senga, Jeff McNeil and David Peterson, although they have not gained any traction for any of them (Athletic)

• Mark Vientos has hired Scott Boras to be his agent (Athletic)

• The Mets are signing OF Cristian Pache to a minor league contract (SI)

• Steve Cohen got his final approval for a New York Casino license at Metropolitan Park which is right outside Citi Field - it is expected to open in June, 2030 (SBJ)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• Teams are showing interest in a trade for Yankees INF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MLB.com)

• Nick Castellanos seems all but certain to be traded by the Phillies (NY Post)

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

On the latest edition of the podcast, Andrew Claudio and Rich MacLeod broke down the three potential plans David Stearns and the Mets could move forward with this winter.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE JUST METS PODCAST: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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Should the Mets trade their young prospects or not?✍️

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

We all knew changes were coming in Queens this offseason, but it feels safe to say most of us are still reeling from just how jarring those changes have been. To be fair, David Stearns hinted at some harsh winds of change immediately after the season ended, and he said himself after he acquired Marcus Semien that the club simply could roll with the same players again in 2026.

So, the warning signs were there. Most people either missed it, ignored it, or didn’t realize how big the changes might be.

In jettisoning Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, and Pete Alonso, Stearns sure seems hellbent on transforming this roster. He’s lived up to the promise, whether we like it or not.

But right now it’s hard to detect any semblance of what his actual plan is.

The club’s two free-agent additions this winter are good players, in a vacuum. Devin Williams is and has been an elite relief pitcher in this league for a long time. And Jorge Polanco is a useful and versatile piece, though his exact fit on this roster is more than a little befuddling.

The latest rumors surrounding New York’s offseason center around discussions with the San Diego Padres, specifically Mason Miller, Ramon Laureano, Adrian Morejon, and Nick Pivetta. For now, anyway.

There’s no denying that all of those names could help the Mets in 2026, but at this point my question is at what cost?

Getty Images

For the first time in a long time, the Mets have assembled one of the best farm systems in all of baseball. It’s no secret that the organization is willing to listen to anything in an effort to get better, but I’m really wondering if, right now anyway, it’s worth even considering trading away the crown jewels of the system.

Back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is the biggest name potentially available via trade, and the Mets have understandably been one of the team’s most connected to him. But he would take a king’s ransom to acquire, and with only one year left on his contract, waiting 12 months means they would have an opportunity to acquire him solely with money and a draft pick—which is the one thing this organization has in abundance.

To me, the Mets have a choice here.

Drastically try to retool the Major League club for the remainder of the winter, or instead go with their internal pieces or short-term stopgaps, while setting the stage for all of their top prospects to join the big-league club together and create the next version of the Mets core. They can put together an entertaining team for 2026 which can contend all year and possibly make the playoffs while holding their bait for the bigger fish that will come next winter.

I know - we are always talking about next year. I get it, and I know most are tired of that strategy. Playing for tomorrow has been the way for 40 years. But if the buzz coming out of Citi Field is to essentially make moves on the margins while hoping the markets for current free agents come to them over the course of the winter, does that sound like a team that thinks its one big trade away from being a World Series contender?

Right now, they aren’t close to as good on paper as they were in 2025, which was good for 83 wins and just missing the playoffs with a $340 million payroll when 40 percent of the teams make it.

Last week I wrote about Ryan Clifford’s place in this organization being dependent on what happened with Pete Alonso.

With Alonso now in Baltimore, Clifford to me is a name that takes center stage. The signing of Polanco and the subsequent reporting of him potentially playing some first base—a position he’s played for all of one inning in his career—simply doesn’t make sense. Unless, the idea of him playing a little bit of a position number three is being viewed solely as a stopgap until Clifford—who will begin the year at Triple-A Syracuse—is ready.

Carson Benge ascended to the top of the Mets prospect rankings in 2025, and Stearns already acknowledged that the team’s first round pick from the 2024 draft is a candidate to break camp with the Major League group this coming March. At first, I don’t think people took that seriously considering the apparent path for the major league roster when he said it, but it’s now starting to become more of a reality, isn’t it?

In only 116 minor league games a season ago, Benge slashed .281/.385/.472 with 15 homers, 73 RBI, 25 doubles, seven triples, and 22 stolen bases. He’s played mostly center field but is also an option in left, and he should make an impact on this team early in 2026.

Then there’s Jett Williams, the team’s first round pick from 2022 who has been touted as a future star ever since his selection. In 130 games, Williams slashed .261/.363/.465 with 17 home runs, 52 RBI, 34 doubles, seven triples, and 34 stolen bases. Williams can play all over the diamond, but profiles as a second baseman long term with the Mets.

Syracuse Mets - Herm Card

On the pitching side of the coin, where all of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong reached Queens late last summer, and while McLean emerged as a legitimate star, the other two each showed flashes of elite talent while needing more polishing in the minor leagues. But, once again, Stearns recently said he expects his young group of pitchers will make an impact at the big league level in 2026. Considering where this all seems to be heading, it seems more likely that will be the case than it does one or more of them are traded this winter.

That might not be a bad thing, if we keep the long game in mind and are willing to be patient, again.

Any meaningful trade the Mets could possibly make between now and spring training would undoubtedly have to include some combination of the aforementioned six names I just discussed. But if none of them are traded, all six would end up playing substantial roles with the parent club in 2026 at some point.

So why not give them a chance to develop into the type of homegrown core fans can get behind? Given how much work there is to do with the major league club and how far away they are from being completed, their upside is unquestionably more appealing than, say, a second-generation contract for an aging star in their place.

We know the Mets have a logjam of infielders, and I think we all could understand if some combination of Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, or Luisangel Acuña are dealt in the coming weeks. But with what’s transpired over the last week plus around here, my general outlook on the situation is that I’d prefer trades involving those players to be lateral moves or, as Stearns has put it, need-for-need trades, that trade for a surplus to address a weakness like bullpen depth.

I’ve never considered myself a prospect hugger, but if the kids at the top of the Mets farm system are even close to as talented as they’re being touted, let’s let them break out into stars in Queens rather than somewhere else, and then re-assess the way-too-many needs they have later at this point.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Twins signed veteran 1B Josh Bell to a one-year, $7 million contract (Star Tribune)

• Philadelphia signed OF Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract (BeisbolFR)

• Ha-Seong Kim is returning to the Braves on a one-year, $20 million contract (Official Release)

• The Rockies and Paul DePodesta hired former Met executive Ian Levin for their front office, a week after prying now former Met executive Tommy Tanous away (MLB.com)