Predicted NY Mets-Yankees trade is way more satisfying for one team

NorthJersey.com’s Pete Caldera made 26 predictions for the New York Yankees in 2026 and within he believes there’s a midseason trade with the New York Mets.

You can probably piece together a part of what he’s thinking. The Yankees have pitching the Mets could use. The Mets have infielders the Yankees may need. His solution is for Luis Gil to come to Queens for Mark Vientos.

Although we don’t know how the season unfolds, this seems decidedly one-sided at the moment as long as both players are healthy and do about what we expect.

The trade is a huge win for the Mets

Caldera doesn’t get into detail on the merits of the trade. Hey, he had 25 other predictions to make. Cut him some slack!

Gil is an incredibly appealing trade target for the Mets and if the Yankees played in another city, I’d expect he would be a rumored trade target of theirs. He’ll turn 28 mid-year and with a minor league option left, there’s a quick escape clause. The Mets already don’t have this with Vientos who’ll need to hang out on the MLB roster.

Gil’s 2024 Rookie of the Year victory was unexpected. He was a random trade pickup for outfielder Jake Cave in 2018. Although he led the league in walks in 2024 and made just 11 starts last season, there’s a lot to like about him.

It’s difficult to fairly process what Gil will accomplish this coming year the same way as it is for Vientos. Gil had bad peripherals last year even if he managed a strong 3.32 ERA. His walks went up and strikeouts dropped to 6.5 K/9 from 10.1 K/9 from the year prior. He’s not a ground ball pitcher like many of the others on the Mets pitching staff. It hasn’t led to a whole lot of home runs, fortunately.

Gil can be considered the Yankees’ version of Vientos. A player who seems to have been shouldered out of the way for others, the biggest win here would be getting any sort of starting pitcher in exchange for Vientos.

Of course, this is a trade deadline prediction and not one that’ll take place before the season begins. It suggests the Yankees have a need at one of the corner infield positions or DH. The Mets will also need a starting pitcher brought in.

Whatever your most prized possession is in your junk drawer, set that aside. Find something less useful that should’ve been taken out with last week’s trash instead and bet that on this ever happening. The Mets and Yankees will make a trade, but this one seems a bit too likely to go terribly wrong for one team. As much of a win as it may feel like for the Mets, it’s as much a risk for them with the way Vientos has hit at times.

Vientos is surely a guy the Mets can justify having some patience with. However, if they can use him to acquire a starting pitcher midseason, how can you be upset? He doesn't seem to have any long-term role in Queens.

Whatever this year’s version of Miguel Castro for Joely Rodriguez is about the only thing we should expect these clubs to do.