Don’t let ESPN’s ridiculous Francisco Lindor trade distract from a realistic NY Mets idea

ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, except when it comes to baseball or anything related to the NBA that doesn’t revolve around LeBron James. What is hockey anyway? The network is lousy at covering MLB despite having some good intel starting with Jeff Passan. Others do a good job, too, even if the theme often is to go the LOL route with the New York Mets when they can.

This wasn’t quite the mission with one of their latest stories with multiple writers sharing a trade they’d like to see. Headlining the Mets conversation was a deal that sends Francisco Lindor to the New York Yankees for Dax Kilby. A “save your typing fingers for something that’ll actually happen” idea, they had a more realistic one involving Clay Holmes.

It wasn’t declared as a specific one-for-one trade or anything. However, Holmes had a clear and distinctive singular player linked through wishful thinking. Eric Karabell suggested the Mets send Holmes to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for David Sandlin. A hard-throwing righty the White Sox picked up in February from the Boston Red Sox alongside Jordan Hicks, his 2026 struggles have made him irrelevant for their unexpected pennant race. Next year, however, he could be ready to contribute more.

Clay Holmes for David Sandlin (and more) feels like a very worthwhile trade for the Mets and White Sox

Sandlin has a 6.05 ERA in the majors this year but that is limited to only 19.1 innings. His 2.37 ERA in Triple-A is far more notable. Health concerns on how he does throw so hard (capable of reaching 100 mph) puts him at risk of flaming out quickly.

As a two-month rental, the Mets can’t expect Holmes to return them a franchise-altering haul. Trading Sandlin, who ranks 7th within the Chicago system, would require the White Sox to break their rumored desire to not deal any top 10 prospects. Good luck to them at acquiring Holmes if they hold true to this wish.

Because Holmes hasn’t pitched in so long, we should wonder what other teams are thinking about his trade value. Freddy Peralta has been healthy yet consistently ineffective for the Mets. Holmes was on his way to having more than a satisfying year. He was an early candidate to challenge for the Cy Young.

Interestingly, the White Sox could use a closer as badly as they do a starter. Holmes’ history of finishing off games adds to the intrigue. He is a natural to move into a relief role in the postseason when teams no longer need as many starting pitchers. However, if he was placed on the White Sox, he would be an automatic to start for them outside of some sort of implosion. Sean Burke and Davis Martin don’t have the kind of experience Holmes can inject.

The Mets already traded one pitcher to a Chicago team this year and could very well send another to either club in the Windy City. The White Sox have been one of MLB’s biggest pleasant surprises this season. A player like Sandlin, while promising, could feel like a lot to give up for a rental. If there was ever a year to get silly and make a deep run into the playoffs, it’s right now. The American League is wounded and building a rotation capable of matching up with the best in the league is one necessary step. Not only should they make the Mets a sweetheart offer for Holmes and add more on top of Sandlin, they should go further and build a roster of players with lots of postseason experience.

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