Buster Olney’s blockbuster proposal sends the veteran second baseman to San Francisco, testing whether a high-stakes infield reshuffle can salvage New York’s postseason hopes before August.
One way or another, an active deadline is expected to be in the future of the New York Mets. Whether or not that approach is that of a seller, or that of a team making its last push to somehow make the postseason despite a historically poor start, remains to be seen.
The trade deadline is on August 3, so there are still six or so weeks for the Mets’ front office to decide their direction, which will be heavily influenced by how the team performs on the field. At a 34-43 record and six games back from a Wild Card spot, however, you know the roster will be impacted in some way by this year’s deadline.
ESPN’s Buster Olney took to Twitter/X on Tuesday morning to propose a trade involving the Mets and the San Francisco Giants. The deal would bring shortstop Willy Adames to Queens while second baseman Marcus Semien lands in San Francisco.
To make it work, Olney believes the Giants would need to eat up a chunk of the $182 million contract they gave to Adames before the 2025 season, but he still sees it as a possibility for both sides. The Giants have shown a willingness to listen to offers surrounding Adames and other infielders, as they are also having a poor season with just a 31-46 record.
New York doesn’t need another shortstop, but Olney suggested a shift in the infield to make this hypothetical deal make sense. Adames would play third base in Queens, sending Bo Bichette to cover for Semien’s absence at second base.
It would be the second positional switch for Bichette of the year after playing as a shortstop for almost his entire career before signing with the Mets last offseason, but he did impress at second base in the 2025 postseason. Adames at third base, however, doesn’t instill much excitement.
Adames has been one of the worst defensive infielders in baseball this year, and a move to third wouldn’t be enough to flip the script. On top of that, Semien has been playing better baseball as of late, recording a .727 OPS in the last 28 days compared to his .627 on the entire year.
Semien hasn’t quite been the overall player the Mets thought they were trading for last offseason, but the solution wouldn’t be to trap themselves in another long and expensive contract with a player seemingly on the decline.
There are also too many things needed to happen for such a deal to make sense for the Mets, such as getting the Giants to take on part of Adames’ contract and shifting the infield around. Even if that all worked out seamlessly, would it be enough to truly push the Mets over the edge and give them a chance at the postseason? The answer is probably no.
While this trade might not be the one, the hope is that the president of baseball operations, David Stearns, can find some before this year’s deadline to save the 2026 season.
