Jon Heyman Ranking the Mets’ trade bait value ahead of a potential fire sale By Jon Heyman Published May 14, 2026, 6:54 p.m. ET Clay Holmes of the New York Mets pitches against the Twins. Getty Images According to Mets baseball president David Stearns, they’re a long way from making the call to sell. But realistically, it’s a possibility for the 18-25 team.
The Mets did cut bait once in Steve Cohen’s tenure, dealing high-priced pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, among others, in 2023. That was probably the right call even though they “got almost nothing back” beyond financial savings. That was one rival GM’s fair assessment, though OF/1B prospect Ryan Clifford still might help after Drew Gilbert and Luisangel Acuña were jettisoned for rental Tyler Rogers and overpriced Luis Robert Jr.
If they sell, they should do better this time. Though Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes aren’t Hall of Famers, they’re outperforming the 2023 versions of Scherzer and Verlander, and their contracts wouldn’t need to be paid down since, unlike the Cooperstown-bound duo, they’re also outperforming their paychecks.
