A NY Mets-Pirates trade for Luke Weaver that David Stearns will have trouble resisting

The big New York Mets trade deadline debate will be whether or not the club trades Luke Weaver. Under contract through next season, the Mets have a choice between selling him at a high or keeping him around for what we’ll hope is a more competitive 2027 campaign.

Named a “dream” trade match for the Pittsburgh Pirates by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Weaver is a solution for Pittsburgh’s bullpen woes. Their closer, last year’s Mets trade deadline addition Gregory Soto, came into Thursday with a 4.26 ERA. Fellow ex-Mets Dennis Santana and Yohan Ramirez haven’t been nearly as effective for them either.

Weaver would be a suitable addition to immediately become the new Pirates closer and a piece of next year’s plan to try to compete. Someone whose trade value might be one of the strongest right now because of how fantastic he has been for the Mets this year, we’d have to expect something incredibly tempting to get David Stearns to trade him.

This Pirates trade package for Luke Weaver might be too tempting to reject

The Pirates will need all of the major league depth they can get so anyone on the MLB roster, even Carmen Mlodzinski, are off the table. He’s also already 27 and not nearly as desirable as some others might be. With that in mind, and also eliminating first baseman/outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez from the equation because he is currently on the MLB roster, we need to find a few different names to convince the Mets to budge.

The Mets get three players in this trade, all ranking in the club's top 30. Wyatt Sanford (6), Levi Sterling (13), and Callan Moss (28) create a trifecta of players that when combined can make Weaver more expendable in the eyes of Stearns…maybe.

Sanford is a second-round pick from 2022 batting .287/.425/.539 in High-A. The 20-year-old middle infielder is the biggest prize of this trade and while the Mets would probably like a pitcher to headline most trades, the Pirates don’t have too many good enough/seemingly available arms to make it happen. Sanford enters a Mets farm system absent of hitters performing at a high level in 2026.

They do get one arm in this hypothetical deal. Sterling is the 37th overall pick from 2024. The 19-year-old has pitched to a 5.21 ERA thus far in his professional career. A 4.76 ERA this year with a good walk to strikeout ratio for a young kid (3.6 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) becomes a project with some good upside.

We round out the trade with a New Yorker, Moss. The 22-year-old first baseman comes from Seton Hall with an impressive right-handed bat. He’s slashing .277/.352/.394 in the minors this year. Acquired last year by the Pirates from the Kansas City Royals, the goal with him would be to find some power. His minor league numbers have, thus far, favored hitting for average over power. There’s a lot of young Dominic Smith in those results with a career .288/.382/.434 slash line since going pro. Considering the uncertainty the club has at first base, he’d be a good addition as the third piece in this trade.

Expecting a top 100 prospect for Weaver is a bit unfathomable. The return for him is more likely to be quantity-focused. Two position players having good years and a high-drafted pitcher who isn’t, it’s a trade that won’t have immediate pay off but has potential to age well enough.

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