Mets stay busy, trading almost one-third of active roster

NEW YORK -- All told, the Mets made seven notable deals in the weeks leading up to Monday’s Major League Trade Deadline. They parted with eight Major Leaguers and brought in a dozen prospects, nine of whom now rank among their Pipeline Top 30. That includes one young infielder, Jefferson Rojas, who is their new top overall prospect.

The numbers are staggering for a Mets team that just turned over nearly a third of its active roster. Their selloff, advertised for weeks but slow to begin, hit full force in the hours leading up to Monday at 6 p.m.

“We think we added a tremendous amount of talent to the organization that will help us going forward,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “I believe it was the right thing to do, given where we are in this season, to make these decisions. These are not easy decisions. And our goal is to move the organization forward in the best way possible to ensure that we have a far better season next year and each season beyond.”

After making three deals in the weeks leading up to the Deadline, the Mets continued their work on Monday with trades of Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor to the Cubs, as well as relievers Luke Weaver to the Pirates, Brooks Raley to the Phillies and Huascar Brazobán to the White Sox.

Those followed deals of Freddy Peralta to the Rays, A.J. Minter to the Twins and David Peterson to the Cubs. The headliner, though, was their second Chicago trade.

TRADE DETAILS
Mets receive: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 2 prospect, No. 63 overall)
Cubs receive: RHP Clay Holmes, OF Tyrone Taylor

By packaging Holmes and Taylor together, the Mets turned two players on expiring contracts into the only Top 100 prospect they received at this year’s Deadline.

A bat-first infielder who received a $1 million bonus as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic, Rojas was batting .270 with 15 homers and an .800 OPS in 91 games at Double-A Knoxville. The price was Holmes, who is near-certain to decline the $12 million option on his contract for 2027, and Taylor, who will become a free agent after this season.

After a morning of acquiring mostly depth prospects, the Mets cashed in on bigger names with the additions of Rojas from the Cubs and Sammy Stafura from the Pirates.

TRADE DETAILS
Mets receive: SS Sammy Stafura
Pirates receive: RHP Luke Weaver, cash

For multiple reasons, one of the Mets’ most intriguing deals was the one that sent Weaver to the Pirates. The Mets did not need to trade Weaver, given that he is under team control for $12.5 million in 2027. But dealing him represented an opportunity to sell high on a pitcher with closing experience who produced a 1.84 ERA in 42 appearances. As the Mets’ best reliever, Weaver commanded a premium.

That premium turned out to be Stafura, a 21-year-old shortstop from Cortlandt, N.Y. who owns a .960 OPS this season with 20 home runs split between Single-A and High-A. Stafura, who was the Pirates’ ninth-ranked prospect, instantly becomes one of the most promising infield prospects in New York’s system.

“The first thing that jumps off the page with you on Stafura is the defense,” Stearns said. “He’s got tremendous defensive ability. He’s a very good baserunner, can impact the game in a variety of different ways, help you win ballgames in a variety of ways and clearly has power as well. So when you begin to talk about a power-hitting infielder who we believe can play shortstop at a high level, that’s a player with a pretty high ceiling.”

The returns on other trades helped the Mets fill out the back half of their Top 30.

TRADE DETAILS
Mets receive: OF John Spikerman, RHP Luke Gabrysh
Phillies receive: LHP Brooks Raley

In the weeks leading up to the Deadline, Raley profiled as one of the most likely players in baseball to move. Since returning from Tommy John surgery last year, Raley has produced a 2.15 ERA in 75 outings. Among pitchers who have thrown 100 career innings for the Mets, Raley ranks second with a 2.31 ERA behind only Addison Reed (2.09).

But the 38-year-old Raley, like the majority of players the Mets included in trade talks, can be a free agent after this season. That made him expendable. The Mets cashed in with the acquisitions of Spikerman, Philadelphia’s 27th-ranked prospect who has stolen 55 bases in the Minors and been caught just four times, and Gabrysh, an unranked starting pitching prospect.

The situation was not quite the same for Brazobán, who still has three-plus years of team control remaining, but Mets officials sensed a sell-high opportunity for the 36-year-old reliever.

TRADE DETAILS
Mets receive: RHP Gabe Davis, RHP Zach Franklin
White Sox receive: RHP Huascar Brazobán

For Brazobán, the Mets picked up a pair of right-handed pitching prospects in Davis and Franklin. The former was Chicago’s 18th-ranked prospect, an Oklahoma State teammate of Nolan McLean and Carson Benge who is now in Double-A. The latter is a near big league-ready reliever who struck out 60 batters over 45 1/3 innings for Chicago’s Triple-A Charlotte affiliate.

Brazobán’s team control made him a tantalizing piece for contenders given both his effectiveness and versatility. In 46 games for the Mets this season, Brazobán worked as an opener, a middle reliever and a late-game leverage piece. He also showcased his abilities during the World Baseball Classic, striking out seven over four shutout innings for the Dominican Republic.

“We understand we’re going to have to go out and acquire relievers in the offseason in different ways to get our bullpen to where we expect it to be in 2027,” Stearns said.

Other Deadline happenings:

• The Mets didn’t wind up dealing outfielder Luis Robert Jr., despite the fact that the team is highly unlikely to pick up his $20 million 2027 contract option. Stearns cited “the excitement of still having him here for the next two months of the season,” though multiple league sources described a dry market for Robert, who spent almost three months on the injured list and has produced a .610 OPS when healthy.

• In addition to their four Major League trades on Monday, the Mets dealt catcher Ben Rortvedt back to his old team, the Dodgers, for right-handed depth pitcher Chayce McDermott. McDermott, who has had brief Major League stints in each of the past three seasons, owns a career 4.36 ERA in the Minors.