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5 best Mets trade targets who should be on every fan’s wish list
The offseason is underway, and the New York Mets are active in the market trying to identify possible pieces that will cover the team's current needs and strengthen the roster for next season. Free agency presents high-level players available to teams willing to spend to raise the level of their roster, and the trade market presents candidates at a lower financial cost than free agency.
Teams like the Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, and now the St. Louis Cardinals are some of the teams that will be open to selling some pieces this offseason to try to continue their rebuilding. In this sense, some available pieces could impact any team, and these five trade candidates would be on the fans' wish list this Christmas.
5) Jesus Luzardo
The Miami Marlins have been considering changing part of their pitching staff for offensive returns due to the depth the organization has in this area. At the last trade deadline, the Marlins traded Trevor Rogers for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, representing a high-haul return for an inconsistent pitcher like Rogers.
Jesus Luzardo would have been traded last trade deadline had it not been for the time he spent on the IL with elbow tightness early in 2024. Luzardo managed to return healthy but his performance on the mound was not up to par with what was shown in 2023 ending with an ERA above 5.00.
The lack of command affected Luzardo's ability to generate enough swing and miss and mitigate walks, which hurt the pitcher's performance last season. Luzardo's 2024 numbers should be taken with a grain of salt since the return of this type of injury entails an adaptation process for pitchers.
Luzardo is an intriguing candidate. His contract carries a two-year contract which makes him attractive but his injury history depresses his value. The Marlins would be interested in receiving a position player with a good offensive skill set, either an MLB player or an MLB-ready talent in return in which the Mets could offer a Brett Baty in a one-for-one trade.
4) Devin Williams
Devin Williams has been one of MLB's best and most consistent relievers since the 2020 season. The 29-year-old pitcher is coming off a shortened season due to a back injury that prevented him from debuting in the 2024 season until July 28.
Since that day, Williams pitched 21.2 innings with 38 strikeouts, a 1.25 ERA, and a 0.97 WHIP. During this period, his strikeout rate reached one of the highest levels of his career but he had command issues, allowing a walk rate of 12.5%.
Within his repertoire, his fastball continues to be a high-speed and reliable pitch averaging 97.4 mph and his change-up achieved a swing and miss of 48.8%, becoming the sixth-best change-up in the entire MLB in whiff%. Williams continues to be an elite baseball reliever who will be available since the team declined the option on the player for the 2025 season, leaving next year at the base value of his last year of arbitration, so 2025 would be his last season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers' move would imply that Williams would be a sure candidate to be traded possibly this offseason as was the case with Corbin Burnes in 202. Williams finished last season on a low note after allowing Pete Alonso's home run that ended with the Brewers' postseason run. Although trades for relievers tend to be difficult, it is not every day that an elite reliever like Williams becomes available. The cost for acquiring Williams should be around a package of top and medium prospects.
3) Ryan Helsley
Since the 2022 season, Ryan Helsley has been a top MLB reliever averaging a 1.83 ERA over the last three seasons. In 2024, Helsey completed an MLB-best 49 saves last season and struck out nearly 30% of batters, limiting his walk percentage by three percentage points compared to 2023.
Helsley held opponents to a .243 wOBA ranking in the top 5% of the league. Within his repertoire, his slider induced an elite swing-and-miss percentage of 51% and his fastball averaged one of the highest levels in MLB at 99.6 mph.
Executives like Chaim Bloom, the new president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals know the value and return that an elite reliever brings in MLB for teams in win-now mode. Especially since the relief position is one of the most volatile on the market.
Helsley's profile is more interesting and valuable than Devin Williams' because Helsley is controllable until the 2026 season, and his salary projection via arbitration is relatively low at less than $7 million for 2025 because he missed time in 2023 due to injury. This would imply that the cost of acquiring Helsey would be high, requiring a substantial return in prospect or MLB-ready talent.
2) Luis Robert
Rumors about a possible trade for ultra-talented Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert have been making the rounds in MLB for quite some time. The 27-year-old outfielder is coming off a year of low offensive production where he posted his worst wRC+ of his career and where injuries limited his playing time to just 100 games in 2024.
Robert's talent and production when he is healthy is more than evident. In his healthiest season, Robert hit 48 home runs with 80 RBI, 90 runs, 20 stolen bases, and a batting average of .264 with a slugging percentage of .542, top 5 in MLB, in 145 games played in 2023.
Rumors about the White Sox's interest in trading Robert came out again in the GM meetings where general manager Chris Getz himself admitted that they were studying the outfielder market but had found complications in determining his value due to various injuries in his career. For many, Chicago should wait until the season for Robert's value to increase but at the same time, they risk a new injury appearing that further depresses his value.
Robert has an eye-catching $15 million contract for the 2025 season and two club options for 2026 and 2027 worth $20 million each. Despite the injuries, the value of a player with Robert's offensive production and defensive ability would be worth a shot for any contending team to trade for him.
The return of a player with Robert's profile is complex, on the one hand, the request for multiple top prospects would not be realistic due to his injury history but could imply a combination of a possible top prospect with a couple of added average prospects. Teams like the Mets that do not have a real center fielder could entertain the idea of having Robert on their roster who, even with the acquisition of Juan Soto, could use a rotating outfielder for the season guaranteeing that Robert can stay healthy.
1) Garrett Crochet
The trade market has a mix of talent and positions available this winter but none has greater market value than Garrett Crochet. Crochet was the center of attention at last season's trade deadline but the Chicago White Sox decided not to trade him.
The 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft, debuted as a reliever in the same season showing a fastball that averaged 100.1 mph. However, the pitcher's promising career was paused by an elbow injury leading to undergo ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery causing him to miss the 2022 season and part of the 2023 season.
In 2024, the White Sox decided to make Crochet a starter and during the first half of the season he was the best pitcher in MLB but after not being traded at the deadline, they limited his innings and showed an inconsistency in his performance, probably influenced by the problems that were evident in the negotiations before being changed. Crochet's agent appeared in the press arguing that the team that acquired Crochet would have to sign a contract extension if it wanted the pitcher to pitch in the postseason due to the total number of innings he had accumulated at the time, the highest of his career.
Crochet is an exceptional launcher. The left-hander, who remembers a younger Chris Sale, has a lethal arsenal with his pitches generating a swing and miss greater than 30% with a total K% of 35.1%, a BB% of just 5.5%, and a wOBA of .280.
Crochet has an estimated 2025 arbitration value of just $2.9 million and would not be a free agent until after the 2026 season. This makes Crochet the best player available in baseball for total production versus financial cost. However, to acquire Crochet teams would have to offer a package loaded with top prospects and multiple middle prospects meaning an immediate sacrifice for the future of any organization.
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