The New York Mets certainly aren’t having a fun week in the baseball operations department when it comes to public relations.
After allowing fan favorites Edwin Díaz and Pete Alonso to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers (reported deal, not official) and Baltimore Orioles, the Mets have faced all sorts of backlash from a fan base that was already frustrated with the team’s failure to make the playoffs. There aren’t many moves that could win back fan approval in short order, but trading for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal would likely be one of them.
However, it’s tough to justify paying a king’s ransom in prospects for Skubal, who hits free agency after the coming season. Many teams would be most worried about losing Skubal, but for a high-payroll team like the Mets, it could be a tricky value proposition to give up those prospects with the knowledge that they could simply sign him for market value in a year.
On Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Mets were interested in trading for Skubal, but that the internal debate described above was a real factor that was weighing on their decision — if the Tigers were to even make Skubal available to them.
“Of course, the Mets want Skubal (who wouldn’t?) and are debating now whether to go all in with big-time young players for Skubal, or wait until winter and try to do a free-agent deal for what will likely be record bucks,” wrote Heyman.
“The Mets are well-equipped to trade with an outstanding stash of big league ready prospects, but Mets baseball president David Stearns is among the majority of execs who loves prospects and may be loathe to gut his system for a pitcher who could leave after 2026.”
There is one prospect, however, that Heyman reported was off the table in any trade talks: right-handed pitcher Nolan McLean, whose sensational major league debut this season featured a 5-1 record and 2.06 ERA in eight starts.
“According to one high-ranking Mets person, Nolan McLean, who starred in a 2025 Queens cameo, is ‘off limits,'” Heyman wrote. “But the Mets could still tempt the Tigers with some combination of pitchers Jonah Tong (‘everyone wants him’) and Brandon Sproat, plus outfielder Carson Benge and infielder-outfielder Jett Williams, and more from their top-ranked system.”
It’s important for a front office to set boundaries in trade discussions, and based on the tone of Heyman’s report, it sounds as if the Mets would walk away from Skubal negotiations if the Tigers insisted on nabbing McLean. Only time will tell if New York is proven right in taking such a stance.
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