The New York Mets are bad, and getting worse. Losers of nine of their last ten games, they are 15 games under .5o0 at a shade under the season’s halfway point, and are 15.5 games back of the lead in the National League East to the Atlanta Braves. There is no present left to play for.
It follows, then, that focus should go to the future. If the Mets are serious about rebuilding their farm system – and given that there is little else to play for, they should be – the they have to be willing to make sales.
And no player represents that better than Luke Weaver.
Weaver As Good As Expected, If Not Better
The Mets signed Weaver to a two-year, $22 million contract last winter after his successful career rejuvenation with the cross-town New York Yankees. Concurrent with signing closer Devin Williams from the same team, the deal looked sensible at the time, and a way of filling the substantial void left by the departing Edwin Diaz.
Weaver had reinvented himself as a reliever after years of frustration as a starter, becoming one of the most effective late-inning arms in baseball. The Mets were trying to contend, needed bullpen help and saw an opportunity to strengthen a weakness. The Weaver part of the plan worked; Weaver has been even better than advertised, pitching to a 2.06 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP in 33 outings so far, and even the Williams part has kind of worked, succeeding in saving 11 games out of 12 opportunities despite being far from reassuringly dominant in the process. But the “contending” part, absolutely not.
Trading stars is at least easier when a team is losing. Trading expiring veterans is easy when contention is off the table. Trading one of your best and most popular players is considerably harder, but as the August trade deadline approaches, the argument for moving Weaver becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.
What Other Plan Can The Mets Have?
While much of New York’s season has gone wrong, Weaver has delivered exactly what the organization hoped for. He is not allowed an earned run since 30th April and has become arguably the most trusted arm in the bullpen, one of the few bright spots in a season of unrelenting greyness. And that is precisely why he should be traded.
The first reason is simple economics. Good relievers are valuable. Great relievers are expensive. Elite relievers on affordable contracts become trade gold. Weaver is earning $11 million this season and another $11 million next year; for a contender looking to shorten playoff games, that is an attractive contract. Unlike a rental reliever, Weaver comes with an additional year of team control, and interested teams would be buying a proven late-inning arm for the stretch run and all of 2027, not merely a rental, dramatically increases his value
The second reason is market scarcity. Every July, contenders convince themselves they need bullpen help, while the number of available impact relievers is usually small. This year’s market appears no different. Teams ranging from the spluttering Seattle Mariners to the Yankees have already been linked to bullpen upgrades, and Weaver’s combination of performance, postseason experience and contract status makes him one of the most attractive options likely to be available. And this, in turn, creates the possibility of a bidding war.
For a Mets organization that has already begun moving pieces, including the recent trade that sent David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs, accumulating young talent should be the priority. If the Mets were in a playoff race, they would keep Weaver and hope he was recording outs in October. But with the club sitting below .500, heading towards falling to sub-.400 and already facing questions about its long-term direction, maximizing asset value matters more than preserving a reliever for a season that may not matter.
Luke Weaver has been one of the few unequivocal success stories in Queens this year. That makes him exactly the sort of player contenders covet and rebuilding teams should consider moving. The Mets signed him hoping he would become a valuable bullpen piece, but Plan B, in which he becomes a trade chip, might be the best option available to them.
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