The Mets made their first 2025 MLB trade deadline splash on Friday afternoon, acquiring left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles.
But, more needs to be done if the Mets hope to make a deep playoff run, and president of baseball operations David Stearns is well aware of the team's holes and is actively looking to fill them. Speaking with the media in San Francisco ahead of the team's series opener against the Giants, Stearns said talks with the Orioles had been going on for a couple of weeks and this was the time to push the deal through.
Soto will be the Mets' second high-leverage southpaw out of the pen — along with the returning Brooks Raley — and Stearns was asked whether getting that second lefty was his first priority.
"It was important, you never know whether you’ll be able to line up," Stearns said. "Not sure how many lefty relievers are going to be traded this deadline. We weren’t certain, but with the injuries we had from that side of the pen over the course of the season, we recognize the importance an arm from the left side can potentially have down the stretch and into October. It was something we definitely wanted to accomplish."
Teams aren't usually content with dealing for just one reliever at this time of the season. The Mets are likely to keep searching for more quality arms for the bullpen and Stearns is keeping the door open for more trades.
"We’re still talking. There’s still the ability to upgrade our bullpen," he said. "We’re certainly not going to close the door on it."
He later added, "Wherever we can upgrade the team, we’re going to try to do that. We’ll continue to have discussions on the bullpen. We’re not going to close the door on other aspects of the team. But as we said all along, the bullpen is the priority and probably remains that way."
But what about the rotation? There have been reports that the Mets have checked in on starters like Dylan Cease and Sandy Alcantara.
While Stearns wouldn't say he's not in the market for an arm for the rotation, he made it clear that it's not high on his list of deals to make.
"I like our starting rotation. Our current five is a very talented set of five," Stearns said. "We’re still in the process of building some of those guys up. And that’s unusual to happen this time of the year, where you’re doing that with multiple starters. That’s the spot we’re in right now. Because of that, it puts a little extra burden on the bullpen…But we know as we go through this over the next two months, we’re going to need to ask more for more out of starters. We’ll get there, we’re not there quite yet."
Currently, the Mets have David Peterson, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea as the starting five. Senga and Manaea are coming off injuries and have not been built up, while Holmes, a converted reliever, has reached a workload he's never had in his career.
Stearns and the organization are in a tricky spot, but the second-year Mets POBO believes in his starters. But offered the caveat that if there's a difference-maker available, they'll be checking.
"I think if you’re going to add to the team in general, you try to raise the ceiling of the team. That’s how I look at that group," he said. "Again, you don’t know exactly what’s going to be available and what’s ultimately going to be traded. Acquiring starting pitching at this time of year is pretty difficult. I don’t know how many 'raise the ceiling' type of players are going to be traded in that segment. If those guys are available, we’ll be involved."
And what about the lineup? There's been plenty of talk regarding the Mets' pursuit of an outfield bat and whether they should. Like other aspects of the team, Stearns maintains he'll look into all opportunities to improve the team, but is comfortable and complimentary of how Jeff McNeil and Tyrone Taylor have played in center this season.
"I’m comfortable with the setup we have right now," Stearns said of his centerfielders. "Mendy is doing a great job of finding the right days for Jeff to be out there and for Tyrone to be out there. It’s two skill sets that complement each other, so I‘m comfortable with that. Like with the rest of the team, we’re going to explore areas of upgrades and that’s one of them."
Taylor is having a tough year offensively. In 91 games entering Friday, Taylor is hitting .209 with two home runs and 17 RBI to go with his .570 OPS. McNeil, in 68 games entering Friday, is hitting better. He's averaging .251 with nine home runs and 32 RBI, but splits time between the outfield and infield.
When asked if he believes he needs to add a bat of any kind at the deadline, Stearns, again, was complimentary of how his team has played so far.
"I don’t think we need to," he said. "We have the offensive players who can help us score a lot of runs and turn the lineup over. I continue to maintain we are taking good at-bats by and large, I’m growing increasingly comfortable with the length of our lineup and the contributions we’re getting from the bottom half of our lineup. With that said, we have to figure out a way to score more runs. I don’t think anyone would shy away from that."
The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for Thursday, July 31, at 6 p.m.
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