NOTE: Artificial Intelligence was used for creating this article, specifically Claude
The Mets have officially hit the “everything must go” stage of their season. At 41-57, New York is telling clubs it will discuss the majority of its roster ahead of the August 3 deadline, per SNY and the New York Post. Only Juan Soto (Savant) and their four core young players are off the table.
So the real question for us: what should Andrew Friedman be shopping for in Queens? The Dodgers own the best record in baseball at the break (61-36), but it hasn’t been spotless. The bullpen wobbled badly through June — at one point a 5.19 ERA over a month-long stretch, 25th in the majors — before Edgardo Henriquez, Will Klein, and a returning Evan Phillips steadied the right side. And the back of the rotation is still a question: Emmet Sheehan has gone from a 2.82 ERA last year to 4.81 this year, with Roki Sasaki similarly up and down. And here’s the fun part: the Dodgers are at Citi Field July 24-26, barely a week before the deadline. Consider it a live scouting trip.
Here’s every Mets piece worth a phone call, with a Savant link next to each name so you can dig into the numbers yourself.
The arms that actually fit the Dodgers
Freddy Peralta, RHP (Savant). The headliner of the sale, and a classic Friedman buy-low. Yes, the 4.66 ERA and career-low 22.3% strikeout rate are ugly — but this is a guy one year removed from a top-five Cy Young finish, making a bargain $8 million. If the front office thinks the pitching lab can find whatever went missing, he’s exactly the kind of October weapon they love to steal — and a far cheaper play than the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes. Expect a bidding war, though.
Luke Weaver, RHP (Savant). My favorite fit on this list. A 2.03 ERA over 40 innings, a 28% strikeout rate, and — unlike the rentals — he’s signed for 2027 at an affordable $11 million. Even with the pen stabilized, a proven high-leverage arm with an extra year of control is the kind of insurance a World Series favorite buys. The catch: that control means the Mets don’t have to move him cheap.
A.J. Minter, LHP (Savant) and Brooks Raley, LHP (Savant). The classic deadline rentals: expiring contracts, excellent seasons (1.42 ERA for Minter since returning from lat surgery, 2.02 for Raley), and cheap. Both are as good as gone from Queens. With Edwin Diaz working his way back, a lefty rental is a luxury rather than a need — but it’s exactly the kind of move that costs a mid-tier prospect and wins you a Game 5.
Huascar Brazobán, RHP (Savant). The under-the-radar name. A 2.70 ERA, heavy ground-ball tendencies (1.42 GO/AO), and three more cheap years of control. He turns 37 in October, which is why the Mets will cash him in — but groundball relievers age gracefully, and the price should be reasonable.
The salary-dump lottery tickets
Kodai Senga (Savant) and Sean Manaea, SPs (Savant). Both have flashed ace stuff in the recent past, both have shown better velocity lately, and both are underwater on their contracts — Manaea is owed $25 million next year, Senga $15 million after this season. If the Mets eat significant money the way they did in their 2023 selloff, one of these two could be a sneaky rotation-depth play. This is the Dodgers-iest move on the board.
The sneaky-fun one: a catcher reunion
Ben Rortvedt, C (Savant). Hello, old friend. With Will Smith nursing a neck injury, backup catcher is quietly one of the only spots the Dodgers could realistically address — and the guy Dodgers Digest floated is the same Rortvedt LA tried to sneak through waivers twice last winter before the Mets claimed him. He’s somewhat familiar with the pitching staff and wouldn’t cost anything meaningful. Not exciting, but very Dodgers.
The names I’d pass on
Francisco Alvarez, C (Savant) is the most interesting player who might move — a 24-year-old catcher hitting .259/.325/.448 with three years of control — but the acquisition cost only makes sense for a team that needs a starting catcher, and Smith’s injury isn’t that serious. Bo Bichette, SS (Savant) and Francisco Lindor, SS (Savant) have contracts that make midseason deals nearly impossible, and Devin Williams, RHP (Savant) only moves if New York eats a chunk of his $51 million deal. Buy-low bats like Brett Baty, 3B (Savant) and Mark Vientos, 1B/3B (Savant) don’t solve a Dodgers problem.
The bottom line
The rental lefties will move first and fastest, Peralta will command the biggest bidding war among the realistic candidates, and Weaver is the arm I most want in blue. The Mets are running a fire sale at the exact moment the Dodgers can afford to shop for luxuries — and we get to watch the merchandise in person at Citi Field the weekend before the deadline. Friedman, make the call.
Reporting via MLB Trade Rumors, MLB.com, and Dodgers Digest. Stats verified against MLB’s stats API through July 16, 2026.
God Bless and Go Dodgers!
Leave a Reply