Don't expect Cubs to trade the NY Mets the brother of their first-round draft pick

The New York Mets have put their "going out of business" sign on the front yard, claiming that they'll move anyone not named Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, and Juan Soto. That doesn't mean literally everyone else will go -- it's hard to imagine them finding takers for some of the bloated salaries on the books -- but the roster will be stripped down leading up to the trade deadline.

If there is good news to derive within that melancholy revelation, it's that the front office will be able to stuff the farm system with a host of new prospects. It depends on who is traded and who is held onto, but the Mets' top-30 prospect rankings could look very, very different in about three weeks' time.

So, exactly which top prospects should the team be targeting? Thanks to the presence of Soto, Benge, and Ewing, outfielders are probably out of the question, while pitching is always in high demand... might they seek a family reunion for their most recent first-round pick?

Mets' dream of pairing Carson and Jaxon Wiggins is at the mercy of the health of Cubs' pitching staff

The Mets took a gamble on Carson Wiggins in the 2026 MLB Draft, betting big on his flamethrowing upside and hoping that he's moved well beyond the Tommy John surgery that impacted his collegiate career. That they quickly came to terms with him on a deal worth his full slot value is a good sign for both his present and future.

And while Wiggins stands on his own as a prospect, having recorded a 3.21 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 14 innings as a freshman, he's also got some intriguing baseball blood: His brother, Jaxon, is the top pitching prospect in the Chicago Cubs' system these days. Naturally, since they figure to be ravenous buyers at the trade deadline (especially for pitching), it only makes sense to connect the dots here.

The problem with any dreams of pairing the Wiggins brothers on the Mets is twofold; both pitchers have a somewhat terrifying injury history, and the Cubs are extremely unlikely to part with their best pitching prospect right now. That's because they have the least-healthy pitching staff in the league, with an unfathomable 12 arms on the injured list.

While that'll make them desperate for reinforcements -- which the Mets can provide in spades from either the rotation (Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes) or bullpen (Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter) -- it also means that they won't willingly give up their only top-100 pitching prospect. Per MLB Pipeline, Wiggins is one of just two top-20 prospects in the Cubs' farm system who is both a pitcher and playing above Double-A.

If anyone could make an enticing-enough offer to pry the elder Wiggins out of Chicago, it's the Mets, though he comes with his own injury and reliever risks. Barring a true blockbuster trade involving multiple players switching sides, it's more likely that Jaxon and Carson will face off as opponents, rather than play together as teammates.

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