For the first two months of the season, the Mets’ bullpen was among the best in baseball. On June 12, the unit ranked second in the majors with a 2.89 ERA. Since June 13, however, the bullpen’s 4.99 ERA is the sixth-worst mark in the majors, and they’ve allowed 21 homers, the tenth-most in the majors. They’ve also been charged with 11 of the team’s 21 losses in that stretch.

Overall, the unit ranks seventh on the season with a 3.72 ERA and is tied for fifth with 18 blown saves. The Minnesota Twins, who seem destined to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline (they traded Chris Paddack yesterday), have a few relievers who could be on the market. The Mets have already expressed interest in lefty Danny Coulombe, but he isn’t the only arm that could help the team.

Jhoan Durán, RP

Position: RP B/T: R/R
Age: 27 (01/08/1998)

2025 Traditional Stats: 49 G, 49 1/3 IP, 2.01 ERA, 1.176 WHIP, 5-4, 16 SV, 53 K, 18 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 211 ERA+, 25.7% K%, 8.7% BB%, 2.67 xERA, 2.48 FIP, 2.94 xFIP, 1.2 fWAR, 2.3 bWAR

Rundown

By his standards, Jhoan Durán had a disappointing 2024 season. He battled an oblique injury and saw his ERA climb to a career-worst 3.64 while the Twins slipped out of the playoff picture.

However, he’s come back strong in 2025. While his strikeout rate has dropped and his walk rate has increased, his ERA sits at 2.01, and he’s allowed just one home run in 49 1/3 innings. Durán’s success has been aided by a career-high 64.4% ground-ball rate and a 14.4% fly-ball rate, the second-best mark of his career.

Durán is still among the hardest throwers in the sport, averaging 100.3 miles per hour on his fastball. However, the pitch he’s leaned on the most is his splinker, which averages 97.5 mph and has a whiff rate of 26.5% in 2025, up from 21.3% in 2024. His splinker’s plus-9 run value is the highest it’s ever been. Durán also mixes in a knuckle curve that sits in the high-80s and has a 41.5% whiff rate, and occasionally he throws a sweeper. Durán’s hard-hit rate has increased to 40.2% this year, but his opponents’ xBA sits at just .222, and their xSLG is only .303.

The Twins will certainly field a lot of calls about Durán, but he seems to be the least likely to be dealt from their arms. He’s in his first year of arbitration and won’t be a free agent until after the 2027 season. Unless Minnesota is completely blown away by a trade offer, Durán will stay put.

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Griffin Jax, RP

Position: RP B/T: R/R
Age: 30 (11/22/1994)

2025 Traditional Stats: 49 G, 46 IP, 3.91 ERA, 1.217 WHIP, 1-5, 72 K, 13 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 108 ERA+, 36.9% K%, 6.7% BB%, 2.97 xERA, 2.07 FIP, 1.71 xFIP, 1.5 fWAR, 0.6 bWAR

Rundown

After a career year in 2024, Griffin Jax stumbled out of the gate in 2025. He got tagged for 10 earned runs and 14 hits in eight innings over his first nine appearances of the season. Since April 22, though, Jax has looked like the 2024 version of himself. Since then, he has a 2.37 ERA and a 1.48 FIP, striking out 60 batters against just 10 walks in 38 innings.

In some ways, Jax has been better than he was a year ago. His 36.9% strikeout rate is the highest of his career, and he has a 2.00 FIP and 1.71 xFIP–the latter is the best of his career. While his hard-hit rate has increased, he’s also been quite unlucky–his opponents have a .375 BABiP, over 100 points higher than his .269 mark from last year. Jax has given up four homers this year, the same amount he had last year, but he also has a 15.4% home run to fly ball ratio, which seems unsustainable.

Jax is throwing his fastball at an average 97 mph, but it’s been getting hammered by his opponents, to the tune of a .742 SLG and .689 xSLG. He’s leaned heavily on his sweeper, which sits in the high-80s and has a 45.9% whiff rate and a plus-4 run value. Jax is also throwing his low-90s change-up more, which opponents have just a .171 xBA and .223 xSLG against, to go with a 48.3% whiff rate. Jax’s change-up has a plus-5 run value, already higher than its plus-2 mark from 2024.

Like Durán, Jax is in his first year of arbitration and has two more years of club control left after this season. However, he is three years older than Durán, which likely lowers his cost a little and makes him slightly more likely to be traded.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Louis Varland, RP

Position: RP B/T: L/R
Age: 27 (12/09/1997)

2025 Traditional Stats: 50 G, 48 IP, 2.06 ERA, 1.083 WHIP, 3-3, 47 K, 13 BB
2025 Advances Stats: 206 ERA+, 24.6% K%, 6.8% BB%, 3.56 xERA, 2.88 FIP, 2.97 xFIP, 1.0 fWAR, 2.0 bWAR

Rundown

Working as a reliever full-time for the first year in his career, Louis Varland has enjoyed a breakout season. He’s turned in a sparkling 2.06 ERA, while appearing in 50 games, and after giving up 12 homers in 49 2/3 innings in 2024, he’s allowed just three in 48 innings in 2025. Varland’s strikeout rate has increased from 20.6% to 24.6%, and his ground-ball rate has skyrocketed to a career-high 54.8%, while his fly-ball rate has plummeted to a career-low 23%.

While Jax has gotten unlucky, Varland’s 3.56 xERA, 2.88 FIP, and 2.97 xFIP indicate he might be getting a bit of good fortune. His opponents have a .286 BABiP, which is over 60 points lower than his 2024 mark. His opponents also have an xBA of .251 compared to their actual mark of .227, and their xSLG of .393 is over 60 points higher than their actual slugging percentage.

Across the board, Varland’s velocity has increased sharply. His four-seamer has gone from averaging 96.3 mph to 98.1, and his average curveball velocity has jumped from 84.6 mph to 88.1. This usually happens when a starter converts to being a reliever. Varland also mixes in a high-90s sinker, a slider, and a change-up that both sit in the low-90s.

Varland is the least established of these three relievers, but he also carries the most club control. He won’t hit arbitration until after the 2026 season and would be under club control through 2030. The Twins could get a hefty return if they choose to deal him.

Package

All three of these relievers carry a hefty price tag that will likely include at least one organizational top-10 prospect and multiple top-20 prospects. Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Minnesota is asking for multiple top-100 prospects in the sport for Durán and Jax.

The Mets likely won’t want to move any of their top-100 guys–Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Jett Williams, or Carson Benge–nor do they seem inclined to trade Brandon Sproat. From the team’s top 10 prospects, trade candidates include Jesus Baez, Ryan Clifford, Jacob Reimer, and A.J. Ewing, while top-20 prospects such as Drew Gilbert, Nate Dohm, Will Watson, and Jonathan Santucci could also be on the move. Perhaps the Mets could also interest Minnesota in one of Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio to help clear their infield clutter.

Recommendation

The Mets have a glaring need for some high-leverage relievers, but is it worth mortgaging the farm to help the bullpen? Durán is likely out of the question–the team already has an elite closer in Edwin Díaz, and Durán’s combination of pedigree and club control gives him the highest price tag. Varland could be the most helpful, given his five years of club control.

Jax, who is the oldest of three, has thrived ever since becoming a reliever full-time in 2022, and maybe won’t cost as much prospect capital as Durán. If the Mets were to trade from the farm to acquire one of these arms, Jax is the one they should target. They could offer Mauricio and Ryan Clifford or Brandon Sproat for the reliever.