NEW YORK, NY — The trade machine was on as Major League Baseball’s Trade Deadline had 50 trades go down in the final 31 hours before last Thursday’s 6:00 PM ET cutoff mark, according to MLB.com.
One must give Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns, credit. He said he was determined to upgrade both the team’s bullpen and centerfield position, and he accomplished that by acquiring relief pitchers Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley, and centerfielder Cedric Mullins last week. Wayne Brady and the late, legendary Monty Hall would be proud of Stearns for that kind of deadline deal-making.
Closer Edwin Díaz has been solid, despite giving Mets fans palpitations with some occasional wildness. Reed Garrett has been dependable as a setup man. Ryne Stanek, who was acquired at last year’s trade deadline, has not been a disaster but he has had trouble protecting slim leads in late innings, and is more of what baseball experts call “a lower leverage guy.”
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The major problem has been Mets starting pitchers, many of whom have spent time on the injured list in 2025, cannot go more than five innings. This has taken a toll on the bullpen. Huascar Brazobán was fine for the first two months of the season but started faltering in June from his increased workload. He was recently demoted to the Syracuse Mets.
Speaking of the Syracuse Mets., the Flushing Mets’ reliance on relief pitchers forced Stearns to keep calling up a rotating corps of relievers from that team such as Ty Adcock, Brandon Waddell, Dicky Lovelady, Chris Devenski, Kevin Herget, and Colin Poche. While the Mets helped keep JetBlue’s Syracuse route profitable, they weren’t getting much help from any of the aforementioned.
The trio of talented relievers Stearns obtained cost the Mets several prospects, but none of their truly premium minor leaguers.
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The initial reaction among some Mets fans was that the Mets gave up too much to the Giants for Rogers who will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. Going back to San Francisco were pitchers José Butto, who never distinguished himself in his time in Flushing, and Blade Tidwell, who was a middling prospect and did not impress in his brief appearances with the big club, and minor league centerfielder Drew Gilbert, who was the centerpiece in the 2023 trade with the Astros which shipped Justin Verlander to Houston. He did not live up to expectations in the ensuing two years. Helsley and Soto will also be free agents, but their prospect cost was far lower.
Mullins will also be a free agent after this season. He is 30 years-old but it is easy to think he is older because he was the Orioles centerfielder seemingly forever. Like current Mets centerfielder Tyrone Taylor, Mullins is a wizard with the glove, but he is a better hitter.
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Of course, none of these moves will matter much if the Mets lineup does not start hitting better, especially with runners in scoring position.
David Stearns was far more cautious at the 2024 trade deadline when he obtained designated hitter Jesse Winker and reliever Ryne Stanek. Winker helped the Mets all the way through October although he has missed much of 2025 with lower back issues.
It is understandable if many Mets fans have PTSD from recent trade deadlines. In 2021, then-Mets general manager Zack Scott traded first-round draft choice Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs for infielder Javier Báez who would be a free agent at the end of that season. Báez was mediocre and wound up signing with the Detroit Tigers where his career had a renaissance this year.
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He is best remembered for giving the fans a thumbs-down when they booed the team for inferior performance. Meanwhile, Pete Crow-Armstrong became an All-Star centerfielder this year.
A year later, Scott’s successor, Billy Eppler, had a disastrous trade deadline as he nibbled at the margins by dealing for unproductive players such as Daniel Vogelbach, Tyler Naquin, Darin Ruf, and Mychal Givens. Their collective failures led to the Mets free fall out of first place that September, and to their ouster in the first round of the playoffs.
Trade Deadline Moves in the Bronx
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had a very productive trade deadline. He bolstered his bullpen by obtaining Jake Bird, Camilo Doval, and David Bednar from the Rockies, Giants, and Pirates, respectively.
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His best move, however, was acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies. I have long believed McMahon is one of the most underrated players in the game. He is a terrific fielder, and he has always been a tough out, as Mets fans will certainly attest. He was always a thorn in their team’s side when they played the team from Denver.
Battle of the Badges at Citi Field on Sunday, August 17th
The annual baseball game between New York’s Finest and New York’s Bravest will take place at Citi Field on August 17.
Once again, David Wright will host the contest between the NYPD and NYFD.
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From Mets Events to Willets Point Events?
Citi Field is best-known for being the home for Mets home games, of course, but it is also a venue for many other events such as concerts and business confabs such as the Queens Business Expo. The Mets announced last week that it is rebranding its division which oversees non-Mets games at Citi Field from Mets Events to Willets Point Events. The team cited the growth of the area surrounding the ballpark as the reason.
Their thinking is Willets Point will become as well-known a New York City neighborhood as Park Slope and Tribeca, especially after the New York City Football Club’s now stadium, Ethiad Park, opens in 2027.
Mets CEO Steve Cohen is hopeful his Metropolitan Park project, which is partnered with the Hard Rock Casino, will also be an integral part of Willets Point.
Tiki Barber to be a part of WFAN pre and postgame NY Giants shows
CBS Sports must have quietly let Tiki Barber know months ago he would not be part of their 2025 NFL announcing teams. As soon as CBS released their announcing teams last Wednesday for the upcoming season, the New York Giants announced Tiki would be part of the WFAN pre and postgame shows. He co-hosts WFAN’s afternoon drivetime show with Evan Roberts.
“Taurasi” out now on Prime Video
Before there was Caitlin Clark, there was Diana Taurasi. Prime Video is debuting a three-part documentary on her this week simply titled “Taurasi.” She played for three NCAA women’s basketball championship teams at the University of Connecticut (2002-2004), and then pursued a twenty-year WNBA career, all spent with the Phoenix Mercury. She remains the league’s all-time scorer with 10,464 points.
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Diana Taursai was always accessible to the media and was never afraid to speak her mind. She was vocal about the poor compensation and treatment WNBA players received which forced them to play overseas. She spent many years playing in Russia and Turkey, which had some harrowing moments, such as the assassination of the owner of the Moscow team she was playing for and being framed for taking illegal steroids in Turkey by an unethical Istanbul lab. Taurasi may have been a physical player, but she never cheated with performance enhancing drugs.
“Taurasi” is worth the time investment.
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
