5 bad MLB contracts, underperforming players The Athletic thinks the NY Mets could trade for

The Athletic put together a massive list of 75 trade candidates ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline. The list includes several New York Mets players, some of whom won’t change uniforms and others who are guaranteed to.

It’s a summer sale. For some reason, the Mets are continually getting mentioned as a destination for some salary dump candidates when they already have their own bad deals on the books.

Not a totally outrageous idea to take advantage of, especially if it means shedding some bad contracts of your own, the upcoming CBA’s unknown results makes it harder to believe the Mets actually go out and do something crazy like add more money to the payroll even if a part of the contract is getting paid.

The Athletic wants us to think the Mets will trade for one of these players

These are the players listed as potential Mets additions:

Luis Castillo
Matt Chapman
Austin Wells
Jeff Hoffman
Camilo Doval

If there’s a polite phrase in the English language for “no thanks” with fewer vowels, I’d like to hear it.

For as much spending as the Mets have done, they have never, under Steve Cohen, taken on a truly bad contract. The closest thing was swapping Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. Both perceived bad contracts with the main purpose being to get the deal that ends quicker, adding any of these five players seems less opportunistic and more irresponsible.

Luis Castillo has a 4.93 ERA, Matt Chapman is hitting .235, Austin Wells is hitting .152, Jeff Hoffman has a 4.46 ERA, and Camilo Doval has a 4.86 ERA. Don’t bother trying to dive into the numbers more deeply. All five are having sub-par years. The only player with any appeal is Chapman because of his defensive prowess. As a candidate who could replace Bo Bichette at third base next season, it seems inconceivable for him to land with the Mets in the next two weeks.

The fact that two of the least popular New York Yankees players land on this list tells us it’s more theoretical than factual. Wells is only a match for the Mets if they trade one of their other catchers and that’s already a longshot. Doval is a change of scenery guy for sure. Is moving boroughs enough of a change?

Trading for any of these players by August 3 feels a little too unlikely with the offseason as a more realistic time to maybe explore some options. The Mets should be open to adding major league talent both in trades that require them to sell and ones we might not see coming.

If the Mets aren’t going to tighten up the budget in 2026, the wiser play may be to pay player salaries they are trading and receive a greater prospect return. Previous Mets rumors have indicated Steve Cohen is less included to do so on a larger scale. On a smaller one, paying down the remainder of Freddy Peralta’s $8 million salary in 2026 sets them up far better. 

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