Latest Intel Says Mets Will Trade At Least Two Relievers

Dominoes will start falling soon for the New York Mets, which have plenty of veteran players available to contending teams looking for pitching and right-handed bats.

Everyone needs pitching, both starters and relievers, and the Mets have an influx of both that are drawing interest ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The notable names most likely on the move are Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, Huascar Brazoban and Luke Weaver.

Peralta’s stock is about as low as it can get right now, but he’s still a coveted arm who can eat up innings and is just one year removed from being National League Cy Young runner-up and leading the NL in wins.

Holmes is working his way back from a broken fibula he suffered on a comebacker in mid-May but has looked great in two rehab starts. He is nearing his return and has plenty of suitors.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Raley and Minter will be moved while Weaver is expected to have enough interest to get traded despite being controllable.

“Raley and Minter will move for certain, and Weaver is expected to generate enough interest to warrant dealing him with one year left on his contract,” Passan wrote Thursday.

Both left-handed relievers have been outstanding in New York’s bullpen, their strongest asset all season long, and will likely bring in a couple decent prospects. Having left-handed pitching is crucial, and both Raley and Minter have ERAs in the low-2.00s with good stuff from funky angles.

Brazoban came out of nowhere and has been just as lights-out as the other guys – 5-2 record with a 2.61 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 47 strikeouts to 22 walks through 51.2 innings. The 36-year-old is under team control until he is 40 (2030), and while you relievers can be very hit-or-miss in any given year, Brazoban has earned the right to pitch for a contender.

Weaver has pitched at the back end of the bullpen and would be the closer if right-hander Devin Williams didn’t jump ship from the New York Yankees with him. Weaver is 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 44 strikeouts to 11 walks through 43 innings.

The Mets should easily cash in on their relievers, and the combined return on Peralta and Holmes should equate to several decent prospects. Fixing a depleted farm system after a disastrous offseason plan went wrong will be a huge win for New York.