So, the Mets are sellers?
A team with a bad record is open to making deals. Unfortunately, the shelves are relatively bare.
With the MLB trade deadline less than three weeks away, it’s being widely reported that the Mets are open for business with few untouchable players on their big-league roster. For those of you who don’t know, I grew up as a Mets fan. So, I never turn down an opportunity to write about potential trades between the Mets and Mariners.
Still, there’s a reason the Mets enter the second half of the season with the fourth worst win-loss record in baseball - the roster isn’t well constructed. Don’t get me wrong, there are productive players on this team. Just not enough of them.
Young hitters A.J. Ewing, Francisco Alvarez, and Carson Benge are performing well. The same could be said about youthful starters Nolan McLean and Zach Thornton. And let’s not forget one of the best hitters of this generation, Juan Soto. But these players aren’t going anywhere due to their age, potential, or in the case of Soto, contract.
From my perspective, that leaves us with several thirty-something relief pitchers to discuss. Two notes:
Stats are through the All-Star Break.
There will be no trade cost/financial impact talk.
Okay, let’s get to it.
Brooks Raley - LHP
Selling points: Raley has been dominant versus left-handed hitters holding them to a .176 AVG, which is 15th best among southpaw relievers. That’s just behind Mariners lefty Gabe Speier (.171) and a decent amount of distance ahead of Seattle’s other southpaw, José A. Ferrer (.241).
Raley has been solid against right-handed bats, too. He’s held opposing hitters to a .231 AVG. Just outside the top 30 among lefty relief arms and comfortably ahead of Speier (.283) and Ferrer (.320).
The 2009 sixth round pick’s excellent hard-hit and barrel rates signal an ability to limit damaging contact. He’s allowed just two home runs to the 150 hitters he faced, which equates to a 1.2-percent home run rate. Well below the MLB average of 3-percent.
Raley has predominantly pitched in the seventh and eighth innings this year.
Potential concerns: Well, he’s 38. His advancing age is a factor that deserves mention. Furthermore, Raley is about 20 innings away from eclipsing the highest inning tally of his career. On that note, the Texas A&M product missed most of 2024 and part of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
A.J. Minter, LHP
Selling points: Among 98 left-handed relievers facing at least 50 batters, Minter’s .263 xwOBA is tied for 13th best with Aroldis Chapman. Furthermore, Minter’s walk rate is tops in baseball.
Expected Weighted On-Base Average (xwOBA) uses quality of contact (exit velocity and launch angle) to determine what should’ve happened to batted balls. A key advantage to xwOBA is defense (good or bad) doesn’t influence it. This gives us a truer sense of how a hitter or pitcher is performing. MLB league-average xwOBA for relievers = .314
Minter has been excellent regardless of opponent handedness. In the small sample of 40 batters faced, he’s held right-handed hitters to a .200 AVG and a .550 OPS. The Texan has also contained lefty bats to a .219 AVG and .586 OPS.
This year, Minter has pitched anywhere from the fifth inning to the conclusion of games. This kind of versatility would benefit any contender that acquires him.
Potential concerns: Minter’s season didn’t begin until May 26 because he was recovering from surgery for a torn lat that cost him the final five months of the 2025 campaign. It’s important to note that his rehab was slowed in early may due to discomfort in the same hip that labrum surgery in 2024. Therefore, it’s plausible the 10-year veteran may have workload/usage limitations.
Luke Weaver, RHP
Selling points: The one-time Mariner’s xwOBA is 15th best among 288 pitchers who’ve faced at least 150 batters.
Weaver has registered four outs on five occasions and logged two innings once this year. Adding a backend arm capable of going more than one frame would be extremely valuable to a club wanting to make a deep postseason run.
The Florida State alum boasts one of the most effective four-seam fastballs in MLB. A weapon he uses nearly 50-percent of the time. This season, 205 pitchers have thrown at least 250 four-seamers. His version of the pitch has held opponents to a .156 AVG, which ranks 12th best. Similarly, his .188 SLG is 6th lowest.
With the Mets, Weaver has primarily worked in an eighth inning setup role. That said, the 27th overall pick of the 2014 draft saved 12 games as a Yankee in 2024-25.
Potential concerns: Weaver’s barrel rate is a bit on the high side and is worse than every current Seattle reliever who’s faced at least 50 hitters with the exception of Andrés Muñoz and Speier.
Huascar Brazobán, RHP
Selling points: Brazobán has been among the best in baseball at missing the barrel. Just five pitchers have a lower barrel rate than the native of the Dominican Republic has. Similarly, his hard-hit rate is third best. The end result is an impressive .287 SLG and 1.6-percent home run rate.
Brazobán has appeared in the first through the eleventh inning this season, including six games as an opener. Thirteen of his 39 appearances have been multi-inning affairs with the five-year veteran logging two-plus frames on six occasions.
Potential concerns: Besides being an elder like Raley, Brazobán’s 11.4-percent walk rate is hard to overlook - it’s 10-percent higher than Minter’s. All told, Brazobán ranks in the bottom 15-percent of 288 pitchers.
Thoughts
If forced to pick just one of the four arms we’ve reviewed, I would go with Weaver. He has the most late-inning/high leverage experience in recent history. That said, any of these talented arms represents a potential upgrade to the Mariners’ bullpen.
My Oh My…