The New York Mets are reportedly going to pursue 2024 Cy Young winner (and likely 2025 Cy Young winner) Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers. A Skubal trade would be one of the biggest trades for a pitcher ever, and arguably the biggest since the Boston Red Sox traded for Chris Sale during the 2016-2017 offseason. Regardless, it's clear the Mets are looking into making a bold move, and why wouldn't they after the sort of late-season collapse they had this year? However, there are many more bold additions the Mets could make, aside from Skubal.
1) Kyle Schwarber
Mets designated hitters this season hit .247/.314/.428 with a 109 wRC+. While those numbers may not look bad on the surface, they still only ranked 16th in wRC+. Plus, with Starling Marte likely departing in free agency, the Mets are left without an option at designated hitter. However, they could simultaneously add one of the best DHs in the league and deal a massive blow to the division rival Philadelphia Phillies by signing Kyle Schwarber away from them.
Schwarber is coming off his best season since his 2015 debut. He appeared in all 162 games while stepping to the plate 724 times, putting up a .240/.365/.563 line, .391 wOBA, and 152 wRC+. Schwarber has always been a massive power hitter, going yard 131 times during the first three years of his tenure in Philly, and he only got better in 2025. His 56 home runs in 2025 were the most by a National League hitter since Giancarlo Stanton's MVP 2017 season with the Miami Marlins. It was also just the 12th time an NL hitter went yard 55+ times in a season.
Believe it or not, but there's even potential for Schwarber to have a better year in 2026. His 27.2% K% was his lowest since 2021. He put up a career-high in both exit velocity at 94.3 MPH and barrel rate at 20.4%. Expected stats loved his work, with a .263 xBA, .601 xSLG%, and .414 xwOBA. He, along with Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and fellow Mets superstar Juan Soto, were the only qualified hitters in 2025 with an xSLG% over .600.
It may not even be that farfetched that the Mets would steal Scwarber from th Phillies. Even if Schwarber reverts back closer to his 2022-2024 self, that is still a DH who regularly puts up a wRC+ around 120-130 with 40-45 home runs a season. Plus, how fun would it be if the Mets retained Pete Alonso, signed Schwarber, and batted them both behind Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor? That would probably be one of the most powerful 1-4 at the top of a line-up in baseball history.