Where the Mets go from here

New York Times

5 days ago

The 2025 MLB trade deadline arrives at 6 p.m. (ET) Thursday. Join us for live updates and analysis on trades around the league. Getty Images Getty Images
So, after they landed Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley to bolster their bullpen, what's next for the Mets? It's probably the offense, league sources said. Center field stands out as the most obvious area for an upgrade, but the Mets aren't limiting themselves to just that position, people familiar with their thinking said. Their fluid situation at designated hitter allows them to explore different things. Getty Images
Within an hour of the Phillies trading for Twins closer Jhoan Duran, the Mets made a move for Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. Relief pitching — especially closers — was one place where this trade market felt potentially deepest, and once that market started to move, two of the biggest chips came off the board in a hurry.
Duran ranked No. 6 on our Big Board (the top-ranked closer other than Emmanuel Clase) and Helsley ranked No. 26 (the top bullpen rental), but Pirates closer David Bednar, Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, and Royals closer Carlos Estévez also ranked among our top 50. Padres closer Robert Suarez didn't make the Big Board but probably should have (we chose not to rank him, but it now seems possible the Padres could get creative and trade him).
The Giants could also trade Camilo Doval, the Nationals could trade Kyle Finnegan, the Angels could trade Kenley Jansen, and the Braves could try to find a taker for Raisel Iglesias.
There are still plenty of closers available, but two of the best have come off the board in quick succession.
More coming shortly from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal about Jansen...
The Mets' deal for Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley is, to use a highly technical term from The Athletic's prospects guru Keith Law, "a f---ing heist."
After New York traded MLB reliever José Buttó and two MLB-ready prospects to the Giants for setup man Tyler Rogers, the Cardinals by comparison got three prospects well outside New York's top five in return for the two-time All-Star closer — shortstop Jesus Baez and right-handed pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt.
Baez ranked No. 7 in Law's list of the top 20 prospects in the Mets' farm system before the season, while Dohm ranked No. 17 on that list. Baez is still in the lower levels of the minors. Elissalt was not ranked on Law's list.
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New York Mets 2025 top 20 prospects: Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams lead the way Getty Images
In their three-game sweep in San Diego, the Mets saw first-hand the value of a shutdown bullpen. The Padres' league-best pen held New York to four hits in 47 at-bats, allowing one run in 11 1/3 innings.
That's the kind of pen the Mets are aiming to construct.
In Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley, the Mets have acquired arguably the two best rental relievers on the market.
Rogers is a nightmare on opposing hitters with his submarine arm angle — to the point that the Trajekt system many teams employ to prep for pitchers can't imitate him — and Helsley led the National League in saves just last season. New York can shorten the game now, with Rogers and Helsley joining Reed Garrett, Gregory Soto, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley as set-up options to get to Edwin Díaz. Helsley's ample closing experience also provides manager Carlos Mendoza with the freedom to use Díaz earlier in games if desired. The Mets had lacked that kind of piece since A.J. Minter went down earlier this season. Getty Images
The Cardinals sell-off begins. Closer Ryan Helsley is the first of three relievers St. Louis expects to move before Thursday's deadline, including right-hander Phil Maton and left-hander Steven Matz. Helsley, the longest-tenured Cardinal, joins what is shaping up the be a super-bullpen in Queens.
The Cardinals, eager to bolster their depleted farm system, add prospects Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt. Baez entered the season ranked No. 7 in the Mets system, per The Athletic's Keith Law, while Dohm is ranked No. 17.
Though he hasn't been as dominant as last season, Helsley, 30, remains one of the top closers in the league thanks to his powerful fastball and wipeout slider. Entering play on Wednesday, Helsley had posted a 3.00 ERA over 36 games (21 saves), with 41 strikeouts in 36 innings.
Helsley's fastball ranks in the 99th percentile in average velocity (99.3 miles per hour). Both his chase rate and whiff rates are over 30 percent and he's struck out roughly a quarter of his total batters faced this year.
There will be some concern over his fastball command — the heater has been hit much harder this year than in previous seasons. But Helsley's stuff, combined with his overall experience, makes him a legitimate weapon and greatly improves the back-end of any contending team's bullpen.
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Mets acquire closer Ryan Helsley from Cardinals: Sources
The Mets are sending prospects Jesus Baez, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt to the Cardinals in the deal for Ryan Helsley, league sources tell The Athletic . Getty Images
Ryan Helsley, the fireballing two-time All-Star closer and longest-tenured member of the St. Louis Cardinals, recently estimated his chances of being traded away '90 percent.' He was proven correct on Wednesday, when the New York Mets traded for Helsley, league sources confirmed to The Athletic's Will Sammon.
Minutes after our team at The Athletic broke the Phillies' trade for Jhoan Duran, there are some reports about their main competition in the NL East also going all-out for a top closer...
We'll have more on that for you shortly... Getty Images
One rival evaluator tells me that 18-year-old Eduardo Tait, the former Phillies catching prospect heading to Minnesota, is regarded as having a high ceiling and was asked about by several teams.
The evaluator said that pitching prospect Mick Abel could use some improvement his changeup but is now in a good position to do so with the Twins, who are strong at pitching development.
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Phillies call their shot and get their closer, acquiring Jhoan Durán from Twins Getty Images
Jhoan Duran was asked about the possibility of getting traded an hour ago: 'That'd be hard. I got a couple years here and I feel like here is my family so if that happens, that's maybe breaking my heart a little bit.' Getty Images
Minnesota's rumored asking price for Jhoan Duran was extremely high, and the Twins ended up getting (basically) two top-100 prospects for the 27-year-old closer.
High-A catcher Eduardo Tait is a consensus top-100 prospect and 23-year-old right-hander Mick Abel was a top-100 prospect prior to graduating to the majors earlier this season.
It's the biggest prospect haul for any player traded so far, and yet it's easy to see why Philadelphia was willing to pay the price. Bullpen issues have been a constant for the Phillies, and in Duran they get an elite-level reliever with overpowering raw stuff who can transform the late-inning situation for the next 2 1/2 seasons.
Duran leaves behind a huge hole in the Twins' bullpen and his potential closer replacement, Griffin Jax, has also been rumored to be available on the trade market. Louis Varland and Brock Stewart are other candidates to take on a bigger role for the Twins.
Tait is the second teenage catching prospect acquired by Minnesota this week, as the Twins picked up rookie-ball prospect Enrique Jimenez in the Chris Paddack swap. It's clear the Twins value catcher depth with Christian Vázquez and impending free agent and Ryan Jeffers under team control through only 2026. Getty Images
It has been a rough go for the Phillies bullpen since top reliever José Alvarado was suspended for PED usage on May 18. Since then, the group ranks in the bottom half of MLB in ERA (16th, 4.09), WHIP (19th, 1.35), K% (23rd, 20.7%) and FIP (27th, 4.53), per Fangraphs.
The Phillies have needed a high leverage arm to pair with relievers like Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering, the latter of whom has emerged as a key part of the closer by committee operation in recent weeks. They will get that in Duran, who has a 2.01 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.
Griffin Jax, another reliever on the trade block who tentatively becomes the Twins' closer if and when the Jhoan Duran trade is finalized, had this to say to The Athletic's Dan Hayes minutes before the Duran trade news broke:
The Athletic's Jayson Stark reports that the Twins will be getting right-handed pitcher Mick Abel and catcher Eduardo Tait from the Phillies in this deal if finalized.
Tait was ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Phillies' farm system and Abel was ranked the team's No. 9 prospect before the season, per The Athletic's Keith Law. Getty Images
The Phillies are close to acquiring closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins, league sources tell The Athletic . Getty Images
By Chandler Rome and Dan Hayes
The Astros still employ two of Carlos Correa's closest friends: Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers is the godfather of Correa's oldest son, Kylo.
'Correa is a guy with a lot of history here in Houston,' Altuve said after the Astros' 9-1 win against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. 'He's a great player, great human being, great teammate. Anything that happens, I hope it's the best for him and for us.'
Asked if he had spoken to Correa about the possibility of a reunion, Altuve replied 'not yet' and 'maybe when the trade deadline is over.' He then politely ended the interview.
Read more from our updated story below.
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A Carlos Correa return to Houston via trade with Twins seems unlikely — for now: Sources Getty Images
There are a lot of closers and other high-leverage relievers who could be traded in the next 24 hours — Jhoan Duran, Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks, David Bednar, Camilo Doval — but first, contenders are addressing their late-inning, left-handed matchups.
Three left-handed relievers have been traded today, and that's after lefty Gregory Soto went to the Mets as the first reliever of consequence to be traded this week. Andrew Chafin (from the Nationals to Angels), Taylor Rogers (from the Reds to Pirates), and now Caleb Ferguson (from the Pirates to Mariners) have all been traded in the past few hours.
The only left-handed reliever who made our Big Board was Reid Detmers of the Angels, but he's kind of an unusual case as a failed starter who only this year began pitching out of the bullpen (with considerable success the past three months).
Among the other lefties who could be available: Danny Coulombe of the Twins, JoJo Romero of the Cardinals, Jalen Beeks of the Diamondbacks, and Aaron Bummer of the Braves. Getty Images
The Yankees optioned JC Escarra to Triple A to make room for Austin Slater, who was acquired earlier today from the White Sox.