These 3 Mets are destined to follow David Peterson out the door amid New York fire sale
David Peterson was the firing pin for the pending New York Mets fire sale.
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Bo Bichette | Evan Yu/GettyImages
Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The New York Mets are hitting rock bottom in 2026 and launching a major roster fire sale at the MLB trade deadline after already moving David Peterson.
- High-profile targets expected to follow him out the door include shortstop Bo Bichette along with reliable relief pitchers A.J. Minter and Luke Weaver.
- Punting the disappointing season allows the franchise to stock up on top prospects and build a sustainable future instead of remaining stuck as pretenders.
The New York Mets are just about at rock bottom. This season from hell couldn’t get over soon enough, and the quickest way to move on is for the front office to turn to the MLB trade deadline and trigger a fire sale. David Peterson is officially gone. Pitchers are always a premium this time of the year for contenders, so he won’t be the only one off this roster before August.
Here’s who else will be traded away at the deadline as the Mets search for any semblance of an answer to close out a disappointing 2026 campaign.
SS Bo Bichette
New York Mets shortstop Bo Bichette | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
There’s been a lot of back and forth about whether the New York Mets will trade Bo Bichette at the deadline or not. He’s owed $42 million this year—and hasn’t played like it, mind you—which isn’t exactly team-friendly. He's also owed $5 million if he takes his opt-out. The Mets would be incentivized to trade him because he has player options after this season and next, meaning he’ll control if he comes back to Queens or not. Right now, the Mets can control how much they can salvage from their big offseason acquisition.
By trading Bichette, the Mets get rid of a player that possibly might not come back after this season, and they start putting together some pieces of a team that can actually contend. This fire sale isn’t about just trimming fat, it’s about accepting this team isn’t ready to win right now. Every subsequent move after trading David Peterson should be toward turning the Mets back into National League contenders.
Bichette is slashing .254/.299/.388 with a .688 OPS. His -0.1 WAR is part of the reason for the Mets’ struggles. I’m not sure what the market is for Bichette, but whatever it is, it’s better for the Mets than gambling on him to return.
LHP A.J. Minter
New York Mets relief pitcher A.J. Minter | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Now the Mets have had injury problems all year, their pitching staff included. This season has spiraled, and because things aren’t great, giving up some of the better arms this season might have to be the move for them. A.J. Minter has been a solid reliever for New York despite their struggles on the bump. Minter and Brooks Raley are each in contract years, so they become prime trade candidates.
Minter is a bit younger and has been really consistent. He probably has more value than Raley on the market. Minter has nine strikeouts in 12 innings pitched—he's thrown in 13 games so far this season. While Minter doesn’t record a lot of strikes, he doesn’t give up a lot of hits either, which is a fair trade-off.
Trading another pitcher doesn’t seem ideal, but as of Friday afternoon, the Mets are 15 games back of the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves and 9.5 games out of a wild card spot. There’s not much left for them this season other than to see what decent prospects they can add with the few solid players on this team.
RHP Luke Weaver
New York Mets pitcher Luke Weaver | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
If trading two pitchers was a lot, imagine three. Luke Weaver is very much a trade piece for New York, and the chance to capitalize on another strong arm has to be the focus. The Mets can add both future depth and pitching depth if they capitalize. They turned David Peterson into a minor league infielder, Cole Mathis. Between Weaver and Minter, they should be able to get at least two more prospects as well.
Weaver has been one of the top relievers on this team, carrying a 1.4 WAR in 32 appearances this year. If that wasn’t good enough, he has a 0.85 WHIP, a .167 opponent batting average and .471 opponent OPS. Weaver is the perfect trade piece for the Mets. Not just with what he’s done but the return he could yield.
The Mets can’t waste this chance to punt on this season and turn toward the future. New York likes to have its hand in every big name free agent that hits the market and it puts them in an unfortunate situation with Bichette. How they handle this trade deadline will determine whether they’re serious about turning this around or content being in pretender purgatory.