New food at Citi Field for 2025: Video
New food is unveiled at the What’s New at Citi Field media event on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
The recent stretch of Mets struggles has many fans pining for change.
With the Mets losing 13 out of their last 16 games, Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, which is set for July 31 at 6 p.m., cannot come soon enough for some.
With the Mets squarely in contention mode and armed with the resources of owner Steve Cohen, they could be one of the more aggressive buyers on the market. For many teams, that decision is an interesting calculus, with expanded playoffs blurring the lines between buyers and sellers.
Some of the Mets’ big additions will come in the form of returns from injury, including Sean Manaea, Brooks Raley and Jesse Winker, among others.
And the next month will provide a great deal of clarity for the Mets’ biggest needs to compete for a World Series crown. Any help in the short term could not hurt.
With that in mind and a month until the deadline arrives, here are the three biggest needs for the Mets:
Bullpen: High-leverage arm/capable left-hander
After rushing out of the gates to post some of the best numbers in MLB, the Mets bullpen has fallen on some rough times in recent weeks.
The duo of Reed Garrett and Huascar Brazoban, who had both well exceeded their expectations and been forces late in close games, has shown some fragility over the last few weeks. And with another injury to Max Kranick, the back end of the bullpen feels more like a patchwork unit than a sturdy one at this point.
Season-ending injuries to A.J. Minter and Danny Young have left the Mets front office to deploy a revolving door of lefty options, which has included Jose Castillo, Genesis Cabrera, Richard Lovelady and Colin Poche. Raley might be due back after the All-Star break but he may not be able to be pushed as freely off Tommy John surgery.
Those two factors underscore the need for the Mets to add a reliever with an ability to rise in the late innings. A lefty high-leverage option could be a bonus.
I wouldn’t expect the Mets to be at the top of the market here for a high-end closer like Emmanuel Clase or Jhoan Duran, who could command a ransom, but there is a clear need for at least one more dependable option.
For the lefties, the Rangers’ Hoby Milner, Red Sox‘s Aroldis Chapman and Angels’ Reid Detmer present notable promise. Some high-leverage right-handers on expiring deals for teams on the periphery include the Nationals’ Kyle Finnegan, Rangers’ Chris Martin, Rays’ Pete Fairbanks and Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley.
Rotation: A front-end starting pitcher
While Manaea is on the way back, there is no guarantee that he will be able to regain his form from down the stretch in 2024 when he evolved into the Mets’ ace. A minor setback came with the discovery of loose bodies in Manaea’s elbow further clouding his outlook.
The Mets have some nice pieces at the top of their rotation in Kodai Senga, who is working back from a hamstring injury, David Peterson and Clay Holmes, but is that enough firepower to smother the top offenses in the National League come playoff time?
If the Mets aim to increase their chances in the playoffs, they could stand to bolster their starting unit.
There appear to be a few on the market who could come a little bit cheaper than the likes of Sandy Alcantara, who might be the gem of the deadline. The Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly provide high upside and strong track records.
Lineup: Higher-upside bat
It feels like the Mets need one more cog in their lineup to strike fear in opposing pitching staffs.
The problem seems contained to the bottom, which is filled with a few unproven commodities, like Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio, a newly-entrenched catcher in Luis Torrens and a defense-first outfielder in Tyrone Taylor.
The Mets could stand to get some more production at one of these spots.
Many of the names floating around the deadline are outfielders, with the Red Sox’s Jarren Duran, White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. and Orioles’ Cedric Mullins emerging as names who could be moved. Duran would come at a majorly steep cost, while the others are a bit feast-or-famine offensively.
Any spark offensively in a depth role, particularly in the outfield, would be a boon for the Mets offense.