3 Mets players and 3 Astros who could swap teams before Opening Day 2025

2) Brett Baty is traded to the Astros from the Mets

Who could replace Bregman at third base in Houston? Why not fallen Mets prospect Brett Baty? At the very least, Baty can compete for some playing time at the hot corner if they do lose their own fallen star to another team.

Baty’s status with the Mets doesn’t seem to favor him getting much of an opportunity to play much third base in the majors again. An injury or a positional shift for Mark Vientos is the only way to open up a door. Even then, the Mets would be unwise to name him the third baseman without a challenger.

Odds of this happening: There are probably more patient teams who match better in a trade. Furthermore, the Astros need someone more proven.

2) Yusei Kikuchi goes from the Astros to the Mets

Yusei Kikuchi had an impressive finish after he was traded to Houston from the Toronto Blue Jays. Kikuchi went from a shoulder shrug 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA in Toronto to a 2.70 ERA and a 5-1 record with the Astros. He fits quite well in terms of short-term targets for the Mets to pursue. Some of the nastiest stuff in baseball, he’s someone Jeremy Hefner would probably enjoy putting in the lab.

Kikuchi won’t be a major headliner this offseason in a starting pitcher market with several big names. A mid-rotation arm a team like the Mets could hope to get more from, this seems like an all-too appropriate free agent to end up in Queens.

Odds of this happening: This seems exactly like the type of player the Mets would like to add to replace Jose Quintana.