Lincoln Zdunich
It’s no secret that the New York Mets haven’t played well this season. The club owns the third-worst record in the National League. They’re also 12 games under .500 and dead last in the NL East. No part of the season has looked good. After gambling big on a new-look infield, the group has struggled. Bo Bichette is batting just .254 with a .298 on-base percentage. Marcus Semien is batting .220, and Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos are both hitting at a .214 clip. That group just combined for six errors on Wednesday night. It led to five unearned runs scoring in the eventual loss to the Chicago Cubs. If that wasn’t enough, the pitching staff has been even worse. Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean figured to form one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball at the beginning of the year. Now? Both have an ERA over 4.00.
Possible Trades in New York
Because of that, the Mets were largely expected to sell at the Trade Deadline. Though who they could move is a better question. With so much money tied up in contracts, it remains to be seen if the Mets will be able to move any of their recent deals. Bichette, Jorge Polanco and Peralta seem like trades that could be made, but Peralta is the only easily movable one. The starting pitcher hasn’t done great this year, but could bolster a contending team’s rotation in a playoff run. He’ll be a free agent this upcoming year, so the haul for a rental wouldn’t be nearly as strong. That said, the Mets will likely try to get as much as they can out of their impending free agents.
Bichette is an interesting case. He was largely expected to exercise his opt-out at the end of this season and test free agency again. In doing so, he’d be leaving $79 million on the board in guaranteed dollars with New York. But after performing so poorly, it seems more likely that Bichette stays with the Mets at the end of this season. If he turns things around, then he could still leave, but that won’t be known until later this year. If Bichette is traded, it would be once his situation becomes clearer closer to the August 3 Trade Deadline.
The First of Many Moves to Come
Then came the news that left-hander David Peterson was heading to Chicago. The Mets received 1B/DH Cole Mathis, the Cubs’ No. 13 prospect, in a one-for-one swap for Peterson. Chicago’s rotation has been decimated by injuries. Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Justin Steele were already on the injured list when the Cubs placed Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera on the IL Wednesday. Peterson immediately helps bolster that lack of depth, despite a subpar 2026 campaign.
Through 68 innings pitched, Peterson owns a 6.09 ERA, a 1.65 WHIP and a .290 opponent batting average. He’s worked in bulk relief for the Mets, but it hasn’t helped much. It’s been a consistent downtick from the recent success the left-hander has enjoyed. It wasn’t long ago that Peterson finished 2024 with a 2.90 ERA across 121 innings. He was an anchor for the Mets in a year that saw them go all the way to the NLCS before losing to the eventual-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The longtime Met has always had good stuff, but hasn’t been able to find a consistent groove on the mound. If Chicago can help Peterson return to form, it would be a major boost to their beleaguered pitching staff.
