Mets' trade chips on display in win over Dodgers

NEW YORK -- With barely a week until the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, scouts were trawling around Citi Field on Sunday, hoping to sharpen their evaluations of Mets players before what will potentially be one of the more comprehensive sell-offs in franchise history.

Those scouts were not disappointed, as Freddy Peralta, Tyrone Taylor and others gave them plenty of information to tap into their tablets during an 8-3 Mets win over the Dodgers.

Peralta struggled again, needing 93 pitches to complete four innings, but Taylor hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth to lead the Mets to victory.

“It’s not easy to not think about it,” Peralta said of the Deadline. "But at the end of the day, it’s business.”

Cionel Pérez, Brooks Raley and Luke Weaver, three other trade candidates, combined on four scoreless innings following Peralta to the mound, before Devin Williams navigated the ninth.

It’s that time of year when little changes matter. With that in mind, here’s a look at several Mets trade candidates whose stock is shifting heading into the final week before the Deadline.

Freddy Peralta, RHP
Contract status: Free agent after 2026
Stock watch: ⬇️⬇️⬇️

What Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns can extract for Peralta remains one of the league’s most intriguing Deadline questions. Certainly, Stearns won’t approach the package he gave up to acquire Peralta back in January, sending Top 100-caliber prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to Milwaukee. One scout for an interested team suggested the Mets might be able to acquire a single prospect ranking in the 5-10 range on an organization’s Top 30 list.

That low price is partially because Peralta is a pure rental with only two months of team control left, but mostly because he has scuffled -- again and again and again. On Sunday, Peralta was his typical inefficient self, working deep counts and struggling to put away hitters. He allowed three runs, one of them unearned, which actually lowered his ERA to 4.99.

"I haven’t done what I’m supposed to do,” Peralta said.

Still, starting pitching is in the same type of demand that it is every year. Earlier this season, the Mets acquired a Top 30 prospect for David Peterson. The Red Sox traded Connelly Early to the Nationals this weekend for an everyday position player in Curtis Mead. Peralta holds more value than Peterson, but less than Early. As potentially the third-best Deadline starter available behind Tarik Skubal and teammate Clay Holmes, Peralta will fetch something in a trade. It’s just not going to be a headline-grabbing type of return.

Tyrone Taylor, OF
Contract status: Free agent after 2026
Stock watch: ⬆️⬆️⬆️

A month ago, it seemed far-fetched that the Mets would be able to trade Taylor for much more than cash. Taylor had spent most of June on the injured list, after regressing both offensively and defensively over the first two months of the season.

But a healthy Taylor has since been raking in a part-time role. Since returning from the IL in late June, Taylor has five home runs in 18 games with a 1.403 OPS. While his three-run homer on Sunday came against right-hander Evan Phillips, the bulk of Taylor’s damage has occurred versus lefties. As the Early trade proved, right-handed offense is in demand this summer. Teams like the Phillies or Braves would be an excellent match for Taylor.

“I’m just bracing for each moment here, man,” Taylor said. “I’m trying to do my best to help the team win here.”

Luis Robert Jr., OF
Contract status: $20 million 2027 team option with a $2 million buyout
Stock watch: ⬆️⬆️

Like Taylor, Robert has showcased his power since returning from the IL, with two home runs in six games. He’s also walked three times in his last two contests and, most importantly, proven his health in a small sample.

Robert is an interesting case in that his upside is greater than that of Taylor’s, as evidenced by his 38-homer All-Star season in 2023. But his injury history is far scarier, including a recent three-month stint on the IL due to a lumbar spine herniation. Robert is also more expensive, with close to $7 million left on his contract this season plus the $2 million buyout for next. But if Mets owner Steve Cohen is willing to eat some of that money, the Mets could potentially extract a better prospect in return.

Luke Weaver, RHP
Contract status: $12.5 million in 2027, then a free agent
Stock watch: ↔️

Weaver saved himself from a tough day on Sunday when he made what interim manager Andy Green called a “crazy athletic” play to prevent Teoscar Hernández’s bases-loaded swinging bunt from becoming an RBI infield hit. Since snapping a streak of 23 consecutive appearances without allowing a run, Weaver has been imperfect, with two runs (one earned), four hits, two walks and a hit batsman over his last five outings. His velocity has been a tick lower in July than it was for most of June, and he hasn’t struck out any of the last 15 batters he’s faced.

Still, Weaver remains quite obviously the team’s best reliever, and one who can help them in 2027. The Mets would be selling him at close to his high point. As such, they aren’t likely to let Weaver go unless they receive an impressive return.