NY Mets may have one of the most underrated MLB trade deadline chips to deal

With the first series of June in the books, it is looking increasingly likely as though the New York Mets will be “sellers” at the 2026 MLB trade deadline. In that scenario, reliever Huascar Brazobán may be among the most underrated trade chips on the market.

Entering a series against the San Diego Padres, New York is eight games under .500 – 27-35 – and owns the worst record in the NL East, third-worst record in the National League and seventh-worst record in MLB. However, with 100 games to play, the Mets are six games back of a wild-card post and anticipate seeing some of their stars return soon.

With all of that said, and the 2026 MLB trade deadline of Aug. 3 still about two months away, ESPN’s Jeff Passan categorized the Mets as a “tweener” team. In other words, they’re neither true “sellers” – Passan used the term “unloaders” – nor are they convincing “buyers” (or “acquirers”).

The ESPN insider still went on to list a few pitchers the Mets could unload at the trade deadline to recoup value in prospects. Freddy Peralta, unsurprisingly, was the headliner among New York’s tradable players, but Passan also listed Brazobán as one of the Mets’ top assets.

Huascar Brazobán should be one of the Mets’ most prized tradable arms

Mets fans should know what they have in Brazobán at this point. He’s New York’s most versatile reliever out of the bullpen. In 2025, he pitched in each of the nine innings of a standard game at least once, and he also appeared in 10th, 11th and 13th innings as well. Already in 2026, he’s accomplished the same feat – appearing in innings 1-9 at least once, plus outings in the 10th and 11th.

The 36-year-old Dominican right-hander is also among the Mets’ most reliable arms. Brazobán is tied for the Mets pitching lead in most 2026 appearances (26). He has also pitched more innings than any reliever outside of hybrid starters/long relievers Sean Manaea and Tobias Myers.

Brazobán’s 2.35 ERA is the third-best among Met pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched this year. His 0.9 bWAR is tied for second-highest among the New York pitching staff with Freddy Peralta and Brooks Raley. It’s also enough to be tied for third on the entire team behind Juan Soto (1.8) and Clay Holmes (1.7).

As the trade deadline approaches, other teams in better position to acquire players will be looking at the Mets primarily for their pitching. New York’s offense – outside of Soto, who, spoiler alert, is not getting traded – has been so poor that none of the team’s hitters are likely trade candidates. But Peralta, Brazobán, Raley and A.J. Minter, who recently returned from injury, are expected to draw interest.

In Peralta, an inquiring team would be getting a top-line starter. In Raley or Minter, a team would be getting a high-leverage reliever capable of being a late-inning setup man. Brazobán is not currently one of the Mets’ setup relievers nor is he a true starter (though he has opened a handful of games). Still, New York needs to know what it has in the right-hander when discussing his value with any trade suitors.

A veteran pitcher that can appear at any point in a game – opening it, middle relief, late relief, extra innings, middle of an inning with or without inherited runners – and give multiple innings in an outing on occasion is invaluable to every team in modern baseball. Pitching is at a premium, and starters are no longer consistently throwing 200+ innings per season. Figuring out how to put together a pitching staff to record 27 outs per game is a necessary calculus for front offices.

Should the Mets decide they’re going to unload before this year’s trade deadline, Brazobán will be one of their best players to consider moving. And if Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and the rest of New York’s front office decide to make that trade, they need to make sure they’re getting a return worthy of Brazobán’s value.

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