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The starting pitcher trade market is drying up quickly. Just a day after we got a dose of New York Mets rumors saying they had interest in Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan, Ken Rosenthal reports they’re holding onto him, Byron Buxton, and Pablo Lopez.
It’s a dramatic turn of events for the Mets and every other team looking for starting pitcher help. In a relatively weak market of free agent starting pitchers, the trade market seemed like the best way to improve the starting staff.
Alas, with Ryan and even Lopez now apparently staying put, the Mets may now be forced into paying a little too much for a free agent starting pitcher.
Things might get uncomfortable for the Mets with fewer starting pitchers apparently available
Just because Rosenthal says the Twins plan to keep Ryan and Lopez doesn’t mean they will. Smoke screens are available for general managers, magicians, and 80s metal bands. Blowing a team away with an offer, particularly the Twins who could benefit from sitting the 2026 season out as major contenders, can have these latest MLB rumors falling by the wayside.
It’s not a devastating thing to read as Ryan didn’t quite have the same level of ace-quality stuff as some of the other dream starting pitcher candidates we’d like to see acquired. He’s no Tarik Skubal. He’s not even Freddy Peralta. Someone who could grow further into the ace we covet, Ryan wasn’t a satisfactory enough upgrade for what the Mets were missing in 2025.
Among the available free agents, none truly stand out as the missing piece for the Mets. Framber Valdez feels like an overpay. Tatsuya Imai feels too make or break because of the mystery of how he’d handle himself in MLB. Many of the same concerns exist for the rest of the pool. The Mets aren’t in a position to take a flier on a starting pitcher. They need as close to a guaranteed upgrade and the Twins pulling two of their options off the trade market removes a pair of possibilities.
A trade plus a free agent was the ideal plan for most fans, having the trade be for the better arm and the free agent being an upgrade for another spot. As it stands, the Mets might have to make a few phone calls and godfather offers.