The most painful trade the NY Mets could make at the Winter Meetings

Recent New York Mets rumors have them zeroing in on Minnesota Twins starter Joe Ryan. A target who seems reasonably realistic for a variety of reasons, the issue they may run into is Minnesota’s affection for Jonah Tong. He has risen through the system quickly and become one of the best pitching prospects in the league.

If there’s a painful trade the Mets might get tempted by at next week’s Winter Meetings, it’s one that swaps a 22-year-old with ace-like qualities for a starting pitcher who wouldn’t push the Mets over the top.

Jonah Tong is too close to being a major Mets contributor for them to trade him for Joe Ryan

A straight up one-for-one deal is the closest thing any Mets fan would agree to. Even then, you might have to search for a while before you can convince anyone this is the way to use one of your biggest trade assets. A 1.59 ERA in 102 Double-A innings is difficult to accomplish. He didn’t stumble in either of his 2 starts in Triple-A either, tossing 11.2 shutout innings.

The Mets urgently promoted Tong to the majors late in 2025 out of necessity. Their veterans weren’t performing. Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, he made his debut in late August. Looking a little too green for the situation he was in, Tong got pummeled in multiple innings and left the regular season with a disastrous 7.71 ERA.

Batters had no issue dealing with his fastball, hitting .356 against it in the limited chances they were able to tee-off. It wasn’t completely unexpected with Tong having very little time to adjust to more advanced hitters in Triple-A let alone the major league ones who had no issue with him. He was able to strike out 10.6 batters per 9, avoiding what could’ve felt like a total miscalculation.

Tong isn’t ready to have a major impact on the Mets to begin the 2026 season. Mid-year and for several years, he certainly can. Keeping him off-limits in trades might stop the Mets from acquiring their coveted ace. There’s no reason why the Detroit Tigers wouldn’t demand him in a Tarik Skubal trade. There is love lost between David Stearns and the Milwaukee Brewers. They should insist Tong is in a package for Freddy Peralta.

Making Ryan the big trade acquisition for the Mets would fail to satisfy many fans. More turn if Tong is in the trade package. A 7th round draft pick himself from 2018, it’s a win-now decision to involve Tong in any trade. Ryan, however, isn’t enough “win” for what the Mets are missing.