Kyle Schwarber? Freddy Peralta? Byron Buxton? Making sense out of this week's buzz

The Mets are connected to some big names, but have yet to be connected to others who could serve as massive upgrades

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets made their three-year pact with RHP Devin Williams official on Wednesday (release)

• The Mets are once again showing interest in trading for OF Luis Robert Jr. (Michael Marino)

---

Rumor Mill 🔎

• Kyle Tucker visited with the Blue Jays at their minor league complex in Dunedin, FL on Wednesday (FanSided)

• The Blue Jays are open to trading RHP José Berrios (Athletic)

• OF Byron Buxton is more open to waiving his no-trade clause than he was over the summer (Athletic)

• The Mariners are showing interest in a trade for INF Brendan Donovan (Seattle Times)

---

---

The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

ICYMI: On the latest installment of the Just Mets pod, Rich and Andrew Claudio reacted to the Devin Williams news and several other key recent reports.

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

---

Making sense of the Peralta and Schwarber buzz, plus other ideas for the Mets ✍🏻

NY Post

To kick off today’s newsletter, I want to remind everyone that each of the major moves the Mets have made so far this winter, as in the Marcus Semien/Brandon Nimmo trade and the Devin Williams signing, cannot be evaluated in totality today. These moves are similar in that there’s an unknown second part to each.

The Mets now have to make a meaningful add to their offense somewhere (and that doesn’t include bringing Pete Alonso back, which I think has to happen no matter what), either via a trade or free agency, and they really have to complete the Williams signing by bringing Edwin Díaz back. The latter feels like a natural fit for both, considering Díaz is a beloved Met, the best reliever available, and he’s attached to draft pick compensation as an age-32 closer, which makes that a difficult pill to swallow for everyone other than the Mets. So, while this isn’t a slam dunk by any means ahead of the Winter Meetings, it’s a mutually beneficial situation, and the Mets simply have to do what it takes to get Díaz back, even if it means taking a risk on a fifth year in some form or another.

The interesting part about the two major moves the Mets have made is that they’re in fact incomplete, but I think that comes with the territory for a team looking to make wholesale and perhaps unpopular changes to the roster without totally rebuilding. I don’t necessarily see the next moves for the Mets being as incomplete as the first two, but one thing I think we all knew coming into this winter was that this would be a wildly unpredictable off-season with a lot of different paths for the Mets to go down.

I still believe the Mets will eventually upgrade their starting rotation in a two-pronged approach. They’ll sign a big-ish name free agent, but I also believe there’s a big-ish trade coming for them as well. They need better starting pitchers; they need starting pitchers who have a track record for throwing a lot of innings, but I don’t necessarily see a definite path for the Mets to follow at the same time.

There was the buzz from Z101Digital’s Hector Gómez proclaiming the Mets as the favorite to sign Framber Valdez, who appears to be diminishing to an extent but will undoubtedly benefit from arguably an overpay for Dylan Cease by the Blue Jays. There’s also Michael King, who comes with some questions about his health but has ace-like stuff and can be had on a shorter-term deal than Valdez, although there have been very few, if any, dots to connect between King and the Mets so far this winter.

On the trade front, there is of course Tarik Skubal, who just doesn’t appear to be available today, but you never know what tomorrow might bring. There is also someone like Hunter Greene, who also doesn’t appear to be available today, but tomorrow could be another story there as well depending on how the winter progresses for the Reds.

But then there’s Freddy Peralta, who perhaps wasn’t available at the start of the winter, but could now be more likely to be moved, according to the Athletic. The Brewers are, as it has been put, “concerned” about their 2026 payroll. Peralta is due to earn $8 million in 2026, which is just flat out cheap, but is due to become a free agent after next season. So, he is very much a rental, but given his salary for 2026, he would likely command a haul in prospect capital, especially as we witness the price of the best free agent pitchers only escalating into what can only be considered uncomfortable territory. But, his $8 million salary is so modest that it doesn’t really provide a lot of payroll relief for Milwaukee, so moving him might not make a lot of fiscal sense for them right now.

For the Mets, Peralta would be an ideal trade fit for them as he would immediately be slotted in as the club’s ace. Aside from Skubal, Peralta would be the best pitcher available in the trade market if he’s actually made available. There’s also the familiarity piece for David Stearns here, considering his history as Milwaukee’s president before he joined the Mets.

As for the offense, there’s been a lot of talk around the Mets being in on Cody Bellinger’s free agency, and for good reason since he checks a lot of offensive and defensive boxes for them. But he isn’t a natural fit, nor is Citi Field for that matter, and it’s just hard to see Bellinger leaving the Yankees as a result unless their offer isn’t close to competitive to that from others. I think that’s why we are also hearing a lot about the Mets’ internal options as possibilities to take at least one outfield spot, such as Carson Benge and/or Jett Williams.

On the other hand, the Mets simply can’t trade Nimmo away and just leave that offensive gap up to prospects. Sure, at one position, I dig it, but not two, especially if the Mets hold onto Brett Baty, who isn’t exactly a sure thing himself.

Getty Images

With the Padres encountering some uncertainty with their payroll and ownership situation, could the Mets pry away what has become a value contract-wise in Fernando Tatís, Jr.?

Even with the long-term guarantee—he is in the middle of a 14-year, $340 contract—he will earn $20 million in 2026, $25 million in 2027 and 2028, and then a raise to $36 million from 2029-2036. In this market, that’s a bargain for his services, and teams should be ringing AJ Preller’s phone off the hook right now to talk trade for Tatís. The Mets would need him to shift to center field or left field in theory, at least in the short-term, but he’s 27, and that’s not exactly an inflexible age for a player. If he is or becomes available, the Mets should at least see what the price tag is in prospect capital. You figure the Mets would likely need to take on 90-95 percent of the money here at a minimum, but that would lower the prospect price in return and is still a bargain from a fiscal perspective.

There’s also some renewed buzz around the Mets being interested in Luis Robert Jr., whose $20 million option was picked up by the White Sox for 2026. They showed interest in his before the trade deadline in 2025, but he was never moved.

He would unquestionably be an upgrade for the Mets defensively and an immediate answer for them in center field. He produced seven outs above average (OAA) at the position last year and to this point in his career, has been Gold Glove caliber out there in nearly every season. That goes without saying and should not be ignored as the Mets look to dramatically upgrade their outfield defense for 2026 with Juan Soto - a well below average defensive player - installed in right field currently.

But there are two very concerning issues about Robert Jr. - his offense has grossly regressed over the last two seasons and if you hold up two fingers, that’s the number of times he’s played 110 games or more in a season (he did play 56 of the 60 games in the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, his rookie year).

Luis Robert Jr. since 2024, via Baseball Reference

I just don’t see how Robert Jr. would make the Mets better, his defense notwithstanding. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

I’d much rather the Mets pursue a trade for Byron Buxton, who reportedly might be more agreeable to waiving his full no-trade clause than he was four months ago when he said in public he wouldn’t do it. Health remains the primary issue for Buxton, although the 126 games he played in 2025 were the most he has played since the 145 he suited up for in 2017. He’s 31 and guaranteed around $45 million over the final three years of his contract (there are $33 million in incentives he can earn). I don’t know how long he can or should play center field anymore just to preserve him, although when healthy he is still a plus-defender out there. He struck out at a concerning rate in 2025 - he fanned 148 times in 488 at-bats, but he’s an impact player when healthy, that is for sure. The Twins might be motivated to deal him as he can reach 10-5 rights in 2027.

Now, what seemed really far-fetched a few weeks ago may not be ahead of the winter meetings. Passan recently reported the Mets are among those competing with the Phillies and perhaps others to sign DH Kyle Schwarber.

Before we get started on this, I’ll believe Schwarber is leaving Philadelphia when I see it, just like I’ll believe Bellinger is leaving the Yankees when I see it. But with Nimmo gone, the Mets aren’t as unbalanced on the left side of their lineup as they were before, but Schwarber would still tip that scale back to the left side if he were brought in (so would Bellinger, obviously). He also isn’t a good contact hitter overall, and there’s also a question of how his game might age, especially as he enters his age-33 season as an all-power, high-strikeout bat. He’s also strictly a DH and offers no help whatsoever from a run prevention standpoint.

But again, free agency is weird. And if the Phillies mess this up, there are clubs out there who will make this work, even if it’s a square peg in a round hole for them.

For the Mets, it may only be realistic for them to be in the Schwarber game if Pete Alonso walks. But imagine if the Mets had Alonso and Schwarber? And Juan Soto, and Francisco Lindor? Wow.

Now, that’s a pretty lefty-heavy makeup. And whether they have Alonso in here or not, there are a lot of strikeouts already built in without either he or Schwarber. Adding in Schwarber’s less than desirable strikeout rate might be risky over time, but it’s hard to deny what his tantalizing power could do for the Mets offense. And, if the Mets did in fact sign Schwarber, my guess is that would open the door for more opportunities in the outfield for the likes of Benge and perhaps Williams, even if the Mets pursue a defense-first player in that scenario.

A lot needs to happen for Schwarber to fit the Mets, but there might be a path forward with Schwarber, assuming that buzz is legit. And, there are a number of fits and suitors in play for Schwarber, inclusive of the Mets, Phillies, the Reds who are his hometown team, as well as the Orioles and Red Sox, one of his former teams.

The Reds are a very interesting name in all of this. Again, he’s from the Cincinnati area, that was the team he grew up rooting for, and that park should be a very attractive destination for him as an alternative to Philadelphia. But I also think their ability to sign Schwarber or any other meaningful piece could determine whether or not they entertain offers for the pieces on their current roster such as Greene or their other pitching assets. They reportedly do not have a lot of payroll flexibility, so would they make an exception for someone like Schwarber or even Alonso? If not, do they stand pat or trade off some pieces?

Kyle Schwarber’s expected home runs by ballpark, via Baseball Savant

All told, based on what has already transpired and the variety of the rumors swirling around the Mets as we get to their halfway point in the winter, I expect the winter meetings to be very active for the Mets. That’s not to say all of these problems are going to be solved a week from today, but some will, and the path forward for the roster will be clearly defined even as we head into the holiday season with some unknowns.

---

Around the League 🚩

• The White Sox and LHP Anthony Kay agreed to a two-year contract (FanSided)

• Josh Byrnes is joining Paul DePodesta in the Rockies front office as their GM (Athletic)

• INF Miguel Rojas has agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Dodgers - he will retire after the 2025 season (El Extrabase)

• RHP Emilio Pagan is returning to the Reds on a two-year, $20 million deal (Athletic)

• OF Cedric Mullins agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Rays (TB Times)